Education
STAKEHOLDERS in the education sector in Ogun, Oyo and Kwara States have called for stronger measures to curb examination malpractice at “miracle centres.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ‘miracle centres’ are special examination centres where candidates are allegedly assisted to obtain examination results through dishonest means.
The stakeholders, who spoke in a survey conducted by NAN expressed concern at the growing patronage of such centres, which undermine the credibility of public examinations and weaken academic standards.
They attributed the development to several factors, including parental pressure for good results, inadequate preparation by students, weak supervision of examination centres, alleged collusion by some education personnel and the desire of some school proprietors to prevent their students from recording failures.
The stakeholders, however, expressed optimism that the planned wider adoption of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) would help reduce some forms of examination malpractice.
Mrs Christianah Ibikunle, a parent in Oyo, said some parents deliberately moved their children to special centres because they believed such centres offered an easier route to good examination results.
According to her, operators of some centres allegedly obtained examination questions and supplied answers to candidates during examinations.
She said that the practice was becoming more pronounced because some students were unwilling to study, while some parents were more interested in securing admission for their children by all means.
Ibikunle urged authorities to strengthen monitoring of candidates and schools, particularly through proper documentation of students’ academic records.
She advocated scrutiny of candidates transferred from one school to another in Senior Secondary School II or III, noting that such transfers could sometimes be linked to attempts to manipulate examination arrangements.
“Any child that does not have continuous assessment, you should be able to trace where the child is coming from.
“If you know the schools involved, they can also be sanctioned. When they are caught and know that they will be sanctioned or pay a fine, they will reduce it,” Ibikunle said.
She further called for proper documentation of students’ report cards and continuous assessment records from SS1 to SS3 to establish that candidates genuinely studied in the schools where they were registered for examinations.
Also, Mrs Toyin Ajiboye, another parent, said the activities of special centres had contributed to the erosion of examination standards and moral values.
Ajiboye said that some parents were unwilling to allow their children to repeat examinations or wait before proceeding to higher institutions, thereby creating pressure for shortcuts.
“Parents, schools and children, we have to blame them. We have to start from parents and schools to maintain the moral standard,” she said.
Another educationist, Mrs Modupe Aransiola, said some parents allegedly paid for examination slots for their children because they were determined to avoid failure.
She said some private school proprietors could also be contributing to the problem because of pressure to ensure that students did not fail after their parents had paid substantial school fees.
“It’s a major problem. We have to start speaking for ourselves. We have to look inwards and think of how this problem will be solved,” the educationist said.
In Ogun, Felix Agbesanwa, Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), called for deeper collaboration among WAEC, education ministries, security agencies, teachers, parents and host communities to protect the integrity of public examinations.
Agbesanwa recommended wider deployment of technology for candidate verification and real-time monitoring of examinations, as well as regular training for supervisors and invigilators.
He also called for strict sanctions against examination officials and candidates found compromising examination integrity.
On the proliferation of miracle centres, Agbesanwa urged WAEC to strengthen its accreditation process by approving only schools with adequate facilities, qualified personnel and conducive learning environments as examination centres.
He recommended regular inspection of centres and immediate withdrawal of accreditation from centres found facilitating malpractice.
Also, Dr Mike Fatukasi, an educationist and Principal of Adedokun International Schools, Dalemo, Ogun, said that the adoption of CBT would significantly reduce malpractice but would not eliminate it entirely.
He said that miracle centres had survived previous interventions because examination malpractice extended beyond the examination format to issues such as weak supervision, collusion, impersonation, question leakage and poor enforcement of sanctions.
Fatukasi said that the adoption of CBT could reduce human interference through electronic delivery of examination questions and biometric verification, including fingerprint or facial recognition.
He added that random questions for candidates, CCTV surveillance, remote invigilation, system logs and digital audit trails could strengthen monitoring and investigation of suspected malpractice.
However, Fatukasi cautioned that the effectiveness of CBT would depend on adequate infrastructure, reliable electricity, internet connectivity, computer facilities, cyber security and digital literacy.
In Kwara, Mr Saad Mohammed, a teacher at Mercy College, Ilorin, said some miracle centres were located in remote areas where monitoring and supervision could be difficult.
He said that some candidates deliberately patronised such centres because of the perception that they provided an easier avenue to obtain examination results without adequate preparation.
Mohammed urged WAEC and NECO to strengthen accreditation, monitoring and supervision, particularly in difficult-to-reach areas.
Mrs Fatima Abdullahi, another parent, said that the fight against examination malpractice should not be left to examination bodies alone.
She called for greater involvement of parents, school proprietors, teachers, security agencies and communities.
Mr Ibrahim Ahmed, an education consultant, said CBT could reduce impersonation, question leakage and other forms of malpractice, but warned that technology alone could not solve the problem.
“CBT can reduce impersonation, leakage of examination questions and other forms of malpractice, but it must be properly implemented.
“Centres without adequate infrastructure should not be accredited to conduct examinations,” he said.
Mrs Rukayat Ibrahim, a teacher at Government Day Secondary School, Warah, Kwara, also stressed the need to prepare students, particularly those in rural communities, for the transition to CBT.
She urged schools to incorporate regular computer-based tests into their academic activities so that candidates would not encounter the technology for the first time during major examinations.
Mr Tope Owolabi, proprietor of Young Heroes Nursery and Primary School, Ilorin, said parents were central to the problem because some actively sought miracle centres for their children.
“Some parents go to great lengths to secure so-called miracle centres for their children during external examinations,” he said.
Owolabi said some parents even paid additional charges for malpractice, thereby encouraging students to abandon serious academic preparation.
“Parents must frown at malpractice and encourage their wards to be disciplined and embrace hard work,” he said.(NAN)
A.I
Aug. 10, 2026
Tags: Dr Mike Fatukasi Miracle centres Mr Ibrahim Ahmed Mr Saad Mohammed Mrs Christianah Ibikunle Mrs Rukayat Ibrahim Mrs Toyin Ajiboye WAEC