UTME: Nigeria slams 3-year ban on students involved in malpractices in WASSCE, NECO, others

*Dr. Tunji Alausa, Nigerian Minister for Education, directs that student(s) involved in examination malpractices during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations should also be barred from sitting any external examinations, including ones by WAEC, NECO and NABTEB for three years in Nigeria

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

As a proactive measure to curb the growing menace of examination malpractices, the Federal Government has issued stringent measures as a deterrent to other students, parents and guardians.

Dr. Tunji Alausa, Honourable Minister for Education, has directed that student(s) involved in examination malpractice during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) should be barred from sitting any external examinations in Nigeria, such as those conducted by WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, for three years.

Dr. Tunji Alausa, Honourable Minister for Education

The Minister, who stated this in a recent letter to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and other examination bodies, said such a stringent measure would discourage other students from engaging in exam malpractices.

The Minister also said the the measures against examination malpractices are in accordance with sections 5(1) (c) (iv) and 6 of the JAMB Act, considering the menace of ‘miracle centres’ in the education sector at the secondary school level.

The Management of JAMB recently announced that during the 2025 examinations recorded mass failure due to high level malpractices that were uncovered.

The public exam body said the discovery led to the withdrawal of some results and the arrest of about 20 culprits across the country, out a possible 100-member syndicate specialising in hacking computer networks of examination bodies.

It was gathered the Board said over 3,000 candidates nationwide had been identified as either accomplices or beneficiaries of extraordinary examination fraud.

JAMB reportedly stated: “As investigation progresses, all candidates implicated in these unwholesome activities will have their results withdrawn as soon as incontrovertible proofs are established, even if the results have been released.”

The Minister also said any school/CBT centre involved in examination malpractice and/or acting as a miracle centre should be barred for a number of years to be determined by the exam bodies.

Dr. Alausa, in the letter further said: “If any school/CBT centre is derecognised by any examination body, other sister examination bodies should follow suit and derecognise the same school/CBT centre for the same number of years to run concurrently.

He noted: “This will send a very strong signal to operators of these miracle centres.

“This directive is also in accordance with Section 16(2) of the Examination Malpractices Act, which states: ‘An examination body may, in the exercise of its powers under this section, circulate the name of an offending candidates, supervisors, invigilator, official , school, or examination centre to other examination bodies, which may impose similar punishment.”