WAEC AND MIDNIGHT EXAMINATION
An overhaul of the education system is needed to curtail the malaise
Barely a month after the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) suffered a major glitch during the 2025/2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE), the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) recently suffered an embarrassing disruption. The English Language paper was reportedly leaked in some parts of the country, prompting the examination body to reprint new sets of questions. The problem forced many candidates in Lagos, Ogun, Taraba, and some other states to sit the exam as late as 12 midnight, relying on torchlights and lanterns in the absence of electricity. The development has called to question the integrity of educational assessments in the country.
It is noteworthy that some few weeks to the current exam, WAEC revoked the licenses of 574 secondary schools across the country for committing several examination malpractices. The schools were not allowed to conduct the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination. But these have been largely ineffectual. In 2021, 79.5 per cent WAEC results were affected by examination malpractice while 55.6 per cent were affected in 2022. Indeed, to address the problem, WAEC has implemented some measures in the past including withholding results of students, and barring schools from conducting exams.
About two million candidates registered for this year’s WASSCE across 23,554 schools in the country. But some unscrupulous officials of the exam body were believed to have been responsible for the leakage of some question papers about four days before the examination. Aside from English language, other leaked subjects included Geography, Physics, and Literature-in-English, sold on the social media for between N1,500 and N5,000.
Malpractices not only undermine fairness and equal opportunity, they also distort the accuracy of educational evaluations of students. But over the years, misconducts of all stripes have become pronounced in our examinations. From cheating with the aid of phones or other electronic devices to collusion, bribery, impersonation, to obtaining exam questions before the exam as in the present case, exam malpractices pose a significant risk to the dependability of examination results and certification of our students.
Although WAEC’s Acting Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, has cited logistical challenges and security concerns as inadvertently affecting “the timeliness and seamless conduct of the examination,” many see it as a convenient excuse. One major proof of the downward slide in the education sector is the growing cases of examination malpractice. Recent media reports have shown that the vexatious issue, rather than abate, has been on a steady rise. This has become a cause of grave concern considering the destructive effects on the education sector in the country.
Today, rather than read their books and prepare adequately for exams, many students at various levels look for an opportunity to cheat. It is even more disheartening to know that some parents connive with school authorities to perpetrate this social malady. This is regarding mostly state and federal government-owned secondary and tertiary institutions. In the first place this is part of the general corruption the country is trying to uproot. Examination malpractice involves bribery, stealing, and even prostitution. It also portends great danger to the quality of our human capital and by extension, our workforce.
A thorough overhaul of our education system should be initiated and implemented urgently to curtail this malaise. This should include addressing the problem of inadequate funding, poor teaching quality, and related issues. In addition, anti-malpractice measures should be enforced while increased surveillance, stricter penalties should be imposed. The legislature needs to update the laws with severe sanctions to act as a deterrent to students, teachers, institutions and parents alike. The re-introduction of reading and library classes as compulsory components in primary and secondary schools will help to stimulate and inculcate the reading culture in students.
