The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating examination malpractice in Nigeria’s education system, particularly in external examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), as the Honourable Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, offered detailed clarifications on recent policy reforms during an interview aired on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Network.
Speaking on the programme, Dr. Ahmad addressed growing public concerns about what many Nigerians have described as “policy reversals” in the education sector, including the restriction on transferring Senior Secondary School Three (SS3) students, the clarification on mathematics requirements, and the status of indigenous languages in schools. She described the concerns as valid but stressed that they must be understood within the broader context of ongoing reforms aimed at restoring integrity and quality to the system.
“We are all living within Nigeria, and we are all concerned about the narrative when we talk about education,” the minister said. “There are many gaps in the education sector, and if we keep doing the same thing over and over again, we should not expect a different result.” According to her, the reforms introduced within the past one and a half years are the outcome of deliberate baseline assessments designed to identify and address long-standing weaknesses.
Dr. Ahmad explained that the Ministry of Education adopted a data-driven approach before rolling out new initiatives. “Before we start any reform, we conduct a gap analysis to identify the key problems,” she said. “It is based on these gaps that we develop policy positions and initiatives.” She added that resistance to change often comes from people who are accustomed to existing practices, even when such practices are no longer effective.
One of the most debated issues has been the status of mathematics as a compulsory subject. Clarifying the matter, the minister stated that mathematics remains compulsory at the basic and secondary school levels, especially for science and social science-related fields. However, she noted that insisting on credit-level mathematics for all higher education pathways has contributed to access barriers for some students.
“There are learners who come from very disadvantaged backgrounds, and expecting them to pass mathematics at a higher level prevents them from gaining admission,” she said. “Some try once, some try twice, and then they just give up.” Dr. Ahmad argued that students pursuing disciplines such as Islamic Studies or Christian Religious Knowledge do not necessarily require advanced mathematics for their career paths.
According to her, exposure to mathematics from Primary One through SS3—about twelve years—is sufficient for everyday life skills. “By the time you get to higher education, you should focus on your chosen field,” she explained. “We want to break this lack of access for students whose chosen disciplines are completely unrelated to mathematics, while still maintaining mathematics as compulsory where it is relevant.”
A major focus of the interview was the fight against examination malpractice, which the minister described as having a “ripple effect” on the entire education ecosystem. She warned that when malpractice becomes normalized, students lose the motivation to learn, teachers become complacent, and the true state of learning outcomes is concealed.
“If malpractice is acceptable, learners don’t need to pay attention in class,” Dr. Ahmad said. “They know that at the end of the day, they will have access to the questions or special assistance.” She added that teachers may also fail to fully cover the curriculum, while government authorities may be misled by unrealistically high pass rates that do not reflect classroom realities.
Drawing a comparison with earlier decades, the minister recalled a time when examination results more accurately reflected student effort. “Then, students finished with three credits, four credits, five credits, and that was the reality,” she said. “Today, when everybody has nine credits, it hides the truth and affects learning outcomes.”
It is against this backdrop that the policy restricting transfers at SS3 was introduced. Dr. Ahmad explained that the measure is designed to curb the widespread practice of students moving to so-called “special centres” in their final year solely to benefit from examination malpractice. “We have seen many cases of students doing SS1 and SS2 in one school, and then transferring at SS3 just to access malpractice,” she said.
Responding to concerns about families who relocate due to work or other genuine reasons, the minister acknowledged that no policy can be perfect. “There is no policy that is 100 percent perfect,” she stated. “What we do is weigh the advantages against the disadvantages.” She noted that quality schools have traditionally avoided admitting SS3 transfer students and that genuine relocation cases represent a very small percentage of candidates.
Dr. Ahmad further explained that the new measures are closely linked to reforms in continuous assessment (CA). Under the revised framework, students must be properly registered and assessed from SS1, with CA records maintained across all terms. “You cannot just register learners at the last minute anymore,” she said. “Their continuous assessment from SS1 and SS2 must be in place.”
To strengthen accountability, the ministry has also introduced a learner identification system that allows CA records to follow students if they transfer schools legitimately. “Once a learner transfers, their identity and continuous assessment move with them,” the minister explained. “This removes ambiguity and prevents manipulation of the system.”
The interview also addressed public speculation about the removal of indigenous languages from school curricula. Dr. Ahmad dismissed such claims as misinformation. “We have never said we are removing indigenous languages,” she said. “Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo are still very much part of the curriculum as subjects in schools.”
She stressed that preserving indigenous languages remains an important cultural and educational priority for the government, even as reforms are pursued to strengthen academic standards and integrity. “Languages are still there, and they are still being taught,” she reiterated.
As the interview concluded, the minister emphasized that the ultimate goal of the reforms is to restore credibility to Nigeria’s education system and ensure that certificates reflect actual learning. She called for public understanding and cooperation, noting that meaningful change often comes with discomfort. “These reforms are about the future of our children and the integrity of our education,” she said.
Observers say the clarifications provided during the NTA interview may help calm public anxiety and refocus attention on the broader objective of combating examination malpractice. For many stakeholders, the success of these policies will depend on consistent implementation and sustained collaboration between government, schools, parents, and examination bodies.
