5 Persons Responsible for Examination Malpractice in Nigeria: Students, Teachers, Parents and Others

Some students call it “biscuit,” others refer to it as “help” or “bomb,” while some use terms such as “chukuli,” “runs,” and “expo.” Although these expressions may differ from one place to another, they are often used in Nigeria to describe examination malpractice or the unauthorised assistance students receive during examinations. What may appear to some candidates as a shortcut to passing has become a serious concern for the education system, raising questions about academic integrity, the credibility of examination results, and the values being passed on to younger generations.

Examination malpractice takes different forms and occurs at various levels of education in Nigeria. It may involve copying answers, bringing prohibited materials into an examination hall, impersonation, leaking examination questions, collusion, or receiving unauthorised assistance from people who should uphold examination rules. The problem affects more than students alone because it can undermine the reliability of certificates and make it difficult to determine whether candidates have genuinely acquired the knowledge and skills their results claim to represent.

The concern extends across secondary schools, colleges of education, universities, and major public examinations conducted by bodies such as the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO), and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Although examination authorities have introduced different measures to protect the integrity of their examinations, preventing malpractice requires continued attention from schools, families, government institutions, examination officials, and students themselves. No single organisation can address the problem effectively without the cooperation of the other people and institutions involved in education.

One important question is why examination malpractice continues despite the rules, penalties, and public campaigns against it. Some students may fear failure, face pressure to obtain high grades, or believe that their future depends entirely on examination results. In other situations, malpractice may be encouraged by adults or facilitated by weaknesses in supervision, examination administration, or school management. Understanding these different influences is necessary because the problem cannot be addressed effectively by blaming students alone while ignoring the wider environment in which examination misconduct occurs.

The causes of examination malpractice in Nigeria can be examined through five broad groups: the school, examination bodies, the government, the home, and the student. Each group has different responsibilities and may contribute to the problem in different ways. Schools are expected to prepare students properly and maintain discipline, examination bodies must protect the credibility of their examinations, and government authorities have a responsibility to support effective education policies and enforcement. Parents and guardians influence children’s attitudes towards learning, while students are responsible for their own choices and conduct during examinations.

In this article, we will examine these five groups and consider how their actions, decisions, or failures may contribute to examination malpractice in Nigeria. The aim is not simply to assign blame but to understand the factors that allow the practice to continue and identify where improvements are needed. By examining the roles of schools, examination bodies, government, families, and students, we can better understand why academic dishonesty persists and what each group can do to promote fairness, genuine learning, and greater confidence in Nigeria’s examination system.

The School

The school is a citadel of learning. It is a place where students are supposed to acquire sound knowledge to blast examinations like Waec, Jamb, Universities exam, aptitude tests and more.

Instead of achieving the above, the school has changed its purpose to feasting on malpractice which they are supposed to be fighting against.

Note: This doesn’t change the fact that there are still a few schools in Nigeria with integrity.

10 Ways Schools Sponsor Malpractice in Nigeria

1. Not preparing students adequately for the exam
2. Accepting money from students in exchange for answers
3. Encouraging teachers to solve the exam questions
4. Paying invigilators to allow students cheat in the hall
5. Giving admission on bribe and not on merit
6. Low-quality teachers. Many school teachers can’t even pass these exams
7. Failure of schools to cover the syllabus
8. Teachers favouring some candidates in the hall
9. Teachers selling questions to students before the exam date
10. Selling low-quality books to students.

The Exam Body

The Exam Body refers to boards and institutions conducting examinations nationwide. The exam bodies also include supervisors sent to invigilate exams. The high rate of misconducts in examinations can be traced to these persons.

8 Ways Exam Bodies Sponsor Malpractice

1. Making exam questions leak before the exam day
2. Invigilators accepting bribe from school and students
3. Invigilators solving exam questions for students
4. Failure to reward brilliant students
5. fail to penalise persons caught cheating.
6. Poor conduct of examinations.
7. Selling questions to certain students
8. Accepting payments in exchange for a high score.

The Government

The Government is a group of people with the authority to govern a country or state; a particular ministry in office. The Nigerian Government has failed the Educational system and has contributed to exam malpractice in the following ways:

7 Ways Government Sponsor Malpractice in Nigeria

1. Poor educational facilities
2. Lack of proper attention to conducts of exams
3. Poor or no incentive to best performing students
4. Inability to provide  jobs for graduates making them not to see reasons to be serious
5. Poor incentives to teachers
6. Inadequate training of school teachers
7. Failure to provide stable electricity to boost learning in schools and at home.

The Home

Home here refers to Family. The home is responsible for training students in the way they should go; Charity begins at home. If the home which is supposed to serve as a foundation to students is destroyed, the students become helpless.

Note: Some homes have actually done their best.

8 Ways Home Sponsor Malpractice

1. Not speaking against exam malpractice
2. Not encouraging students to read
3. Going to schools to pay so that students can be allowed to cheat
4. Registering children in miracle or special exam centres.
5. Parents are not raising children right or to have integrity.
6. Not able to afford quality education for their children
7. Not paying attention to students academic history and performance.
8. Parents and family members telling students that they can’t pass the exam on their own.

The Student

The student here refers to all candidates in Nigeria sitting for one examination or the other. Students have also failed the system and play a major role in examination malpractice. The truth of the matter is that students enjoy malpractice more. Some students are actually serious but are still forced into malpractice.

9 Ways Students Sponsor Malpractice

1. Bad reading attitude
2. Not reading outside what is taught
3. Saving money for exam runs instead of buying books
4. Not taking the examination as a priority
5. Choosing to register in special exam centres
6. Sneaking phones into the examination hall
7. Ignoring parent ideas and accepting charity from society
8. Lovers of comedy and dirty things than academics and serious things
9. Lack of confidence in their ability.