The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has attributed the high failure rate recorded in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to the government’s increasing success in curbing examination malpractice.
Speaking during a live appearance on Channels Television, the minister said the poor performance of candidates is not necessarily a sign of academic decline but a reflection of a more transparent and secure testing process. According to him, JAMB’s computer-based testing system has significantly reduced cheating, exposing the true level of students’ preparedness.
Dr. Alausa noted that previous trends of high scores were often influenced by exam fraud, making it difficult to separate genuinely prepared candidates from those who relied on leaked questions and other dishonest means.
He stated, “Now that JAMB has tightened its security measures, we’re beginning to see results that reflect actual effort. The system no longer rewards shortcuts.”
The minister also expressed concern over how malpractice in secondary school exams, such as WAEC and NECO, affects students’ approach to JAMB. He pointed out that many students become dependent on external help during these earlier exams, only to struggle when faced with JAMB’s fraud-proof CBT format.
To address this imbalance, Dr. Alausa revealed plans to extend CBT to all major examinations in the country. He said the transition for WAEC and NECO will begin in November 2025, with full implementation expected by 2027. Other examination bodies, including NBTEB and EMBRAS, will also adopt the digital model.
According to him, a significant shift in mindset is necessary among parents, students, and educators, who all play roles in sustaining the malpractice culture. He emphasized that the ministry is determined to dismantle what he called the “cheating ecosystem.”
Drawing from his experience as a former teacher, the minister described the level of malpractice in some schools as alarming. “Many schools and exam centers have become havens for fraud. If this continues, we risk raising a generation that does not value honesty or hard work,” he warned.
He stressed the need to protect dedicated students from being discouraged by a system that previously rewarded dishonesty. The federal government, he assured, is intensifying efforts to enforce zero tolerance for examination misconduct.
“The Nigerian child has what it takes to succeed, but the environment must be right. We are working to make that possible,” Dr. Alausa concluded.
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