The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) official Timothy Manga, NKST Secondary School teacher Rebecca Ezekiel and Otukpo school proprietor Jude Odeh have backed stronger examination controls in Makurdi and Otukpo, Benue State, on Monday, 10 August 2026, as concerns over alleged “miracle centres” fuel renewed calls for stricter WAEC CBT arrangements and tighter monitoring of public examinations.
Also read: WAEC warns against illegal WASSCE extortion
Manga, an official with the WAEC office in Makurdi, said allegations surrounding “miracle centres” in Benue had become worrying, although WAEC had not officially confirmed the existence of any such centre in the state.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria, Manga said examination malpractice threatened the credibility of educational certificates and undermined students who prepared honestly for their examinations.
“Any system that rewards students for cheating undermines those who have worked hard to prepare for examinations,” Manga said.
He added that an effective examination system should reward knowledge, preparation and competence rather than access to unauthorised assistance.
“Though WAEC has not gotten any information on any school being a ‘miracle centre’, we would continue to put our ears to the ground in case we hear of any that we can set an example with,” Manga said.
In Nigeria, the term “miracle centre” is commonly used for examination centres alleged to facilitate organised malpractice, including unauthorised assistance to candidates.
The term, however, should not be treated as evidence against any particular school without confirmation.
Ezekiel, a teacher at NKST Secondary School in Makurdi, said independent examination centres could help reduce the influence of schools and teachers over external examinations conducted by WAEC and the National Examinations Council.
“Candidates should be examined under conditions that are independent of the schools where they receive instructions,” Ezekiel said.
She argued that computer-based examinations could give examination bodies greater control over venues, personnel and security arrangements.
Ezekiel also recommended biometric verification, closed-circuit television cameras and other monitoring technologies to strengthen supervision and candidate identification.
Her proposal comes as WAEC continues to expand computer-based assessment.
For the 2026 WASSCE, 1,959,636 candidates from 24,207 schools were registered, with 1,001,072 female candidates and 958,564 male candidates.
WAEC also said about 29,000 senior secondary school teachers were serving as supervisors.
WAEC has introduced additional measures alongside the digital examination format.
The council said questions were being serialised so that candidates would receive different question sequences, a measure designed to make collusion more difficult.
The Federal Government has also welcomed the gradual digital transition.
In June, the Ministry of Information and National Orientation said the 2026 WASSCE had recorded a smooth rollout of CBT at selected centres and described the development as part of Nigeria’s gradual transition towards digital examinations.
The wider push follows years of concern over examination malpractice, including the activities of individuals who allegedly provide leaked questions, unauthorised answers or other forms of assistance to candidates.
WAEC has warned candidates, schools and parents against rogue websites and malpractice syndicates, saying offenders could face sanctions and prosecution.
The council has also introduced tools including an examination malpractice portal, a centre locator and digital certificate services as part of its broader examination reforms.
Odeh, however, urged caution over how schools are identified as “miracle centres”.
The school proprietor in Otukpo Local Government Area said admitting students into Senior Secondary School Three did not, by itself, mean that a school was facilitating examination malpractice.
Odeh said he had heard allegations about the existence of such centres in Benue but had not identified a specific school operating as one.
He also offered a different perspective on why some students move schools before external examinations.
According to Odeh, parents may transfer their children because of examination registration charges, school fees and other financial pressures.
He said some schools charge fees that can become difficult for families to afford when combined with other education costs.
Odeh further noted that some schools in Benue do not admit new students into SS3, instead registering only students who progressed from SS2.
The distinction is important because stronger examination controls must protect the credibility of certificates without turning unverified allegations into accusations against individual schools.
WAEC’s current reforms suggest that the council is pursuing a broader approach rather than relying on CBT alone.
Question serialisation, candidate identification, digital monitoring and formal malpractice investigations are being combined with the computer-based format to make examinations harder to manipulate.
For Manga, the underlying issue is ultimately about fairness. Students who spend months studying should be able to trust that their results will reflect their own effort and ability.
Also read: WAEC warns against illegal WASSCE extortion
The growing support for stricter WAEC CBT therefore represents more than a technological shift. It reflects a continuing effort to restore confidence in public examinations while ensuring that schools, candidates and examination officials are treated fairly when allegations of malpractice arise.
