The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has commended the National Examinations Council, NECO, for its rapid adoption of technology, particularly the transition to Computer-Based Examinations.

Alausa said the reforms have significantly strengthened NECO’s capacity to conduct credible, secure and efficient examinations.

The Minister spoke during a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPPS, and other education stakeholders.

He praised the leadership of the NECO Registrar, Professor Dantani Wushishi, for what he described as a remarkable transformation of the examination body.

The Minister said NECO’s ability to quickly embrace emerging technologies was one of the reasons the Federal Government supported the continuation of Wushishi’s leadership, stressing that the decision was based on performance and value.

Alausa said the deployment of technology was particularly critical to the Federal Government’s efforts to tackle examination malpractice, which he described as a major threat to the integrity of Nigeria’s education system.

He recalled that examination question leakages and cheating had become deeply entrenched, with questions allegedly being obtained for as little as three thousand naira before the ongoing reforms.

According to him, such practices not only undermine public examinations but also place students who prepare honestly at a disadvantage.

The Minister therefore called on parents, teachers, school proprietors, principals, invigilators and students to support measures aimed at restoring integrity to the examination system.

NECO’s digital transformation includes online registration, biometric verification, computer-based testing for selected examinations, digital certificates and automated grading.

The Federal Government is also gradually moving more NECO examinations from the traditional Paper-Pencil Test to Computer-Based Examination as part of efforts to improve efficiency, strengthen examination security and reduce malpractice.

The council has equally expanded its international reach, conducting Nigerian curriculum-based examinations in at least eight countries.

NECO, which recently marked its 25th anniversary, says its examinations have impacted almost 35 million Nigerians since its establishment.

The council has pledged to deepen investments in technology, human capital and institutional processes to further strengthen the credibility, fairness and integrity of its examinations.

The Federal Government also says measures such as the serial numbering of examination question papers will complement the technological reforms and help curb examination question leakages.