The Federal Government has reaffirmed its determination to eliminate examination malpractice, declaring that the Computer-Based Test (CBT) format remains the surest path to restoring credibility to public examinations and improving the quality of education in the country.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad made this known after monitoring the ongoing National Examinations Council (NECO) school-based Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) at Redeemers Teap International School, Garki II, and Anglican Girls’ Grammar School, Gudu, Abuja.

Expressing satisfaction with the conduct of the examination, the minister said candidates were enthusiastic about the CBT format, describing it as easier to use and more efficient than the traditional paper-based system.

She said: “My assessment of the examination is that I’m very happy because from what I have seen in the two centres that I visited, the students are writing the CBT examination and they are happy. The setting for the examination is excellent.”

Ahmad said interactions with candidates showed overwhelming preference for the CBT format, with only one student indicating she was comfortable with either the computer-based or paper-based mode.

She said the introduction of CBT was already addressing one of the country’s biggest examination challenges by making malpractice more difficult through randomisation of questions.

“I interacted with them to know whether they had seen the questions before the examination because that is one of the key challenges we are trying to address through CBT. They said no. Each student is writing a different set of questions, so even those sitting beside one another cannot communicate because their questions are different.

The minister, however, stressed that the Federal Government would only proceed with a full nationwide transition to CBT after putting the necessary infrastructure in place to ensure no candidate is disadvantaged.

“We will not begin the complete transition until everything is ready because we do not want to put any student at a disadvantage. We are working closely with the National Assembly, state governors, private partners and other stakeholders to provide the necessary infrastructure and facilities for the transition.”

She also commended the smooth conduct of the examination, noting that no technical glitches had been reported since the exercise began.

“In the schools I visited, I asked whether there were technical glitches in accessing the questions or starting the examination. They assured me that there had been no technical hitch. The examinations started on time without network problems or interruptions,” she added.

According to the minister, the seamless conduct of the examination demonstrates that the CBT pilot programme introduced by NECO last year has made significant progress and is steadily evolving into a nationwide model.
Reiterating government’s resolve to stamp out examination malpractice, Prof. Ahmad said technology remains the most effective solution.

“As far as we want quality education, we must eliminate examination malpractice, and I think the only way forward is to move towards CBT examinations.”

NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, disclosed that the council expects to release the 2026 SSCE results by the first week of September, or even earlier, due to faster processing enabled by the CBT system.

“By the first week of September, or even before then, we should be ready so that candidates can use their results for admission,” he said.

Wushishi disclosed that 1,378,048 candidates registered for this year’s examination nationwide, with female candidates slightly outnumbering their male counterparts, a trend he attributed to sustained government investment in girl-child education.

He added that no technical hitch had been recorded since the commencement of the examination, while Abuja currently has about 10 CBT centres participating in the exercise.

Principal of Anglican Girls’ Grammar School, Mrs. Nkiruka Nwafor, said the adoption of CBT would better prepare students for an increasingly technology-driven world.

According to her, the school had already introduced CBT for some internal examinations to familiarise students with the system before external assessments.

“The CBT experience is what we’ve all been waiting for. The future our girls are going into is dynamic and heavily ICT-driven.

”We are excited that our proprietor got on board. We have also introduced CBT for some of our internal examinations so that from JS1 and JS2, the students gradually get used to the system. So it’s about time, and it’s good that it’s happening,” she said.