WAEC Official: CBT Best Way to End Malpractice in "Miracle Centres," Amid Benue Concerns

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has called for the strict adoption of computer-based testing (CBT) as the most effective way to curb examination malpractice associated with so-called "miracle centres," amid growing concern over the credibility of public examinations and educational certificates.

The advice was given by Timothy Manga, an official with the WAEC office in Makurdi, Benue State, while reacting to rising concerns over examination malpractice and its impact on the integrity of results issued by examination bodies. Manga's comments come against the backdrop of persistent allegations, though as yet officially unconfirmed, that some schools in Benue State operate as "miracle centres," a term used across Nigeria to describe examination centres notorious for facilitating cheating in order to guarantee students impressive results.

Manga described the trend as a serious threat to the country's education system, arguing that schools should be recognised for the quality of teaching they provide rather than any reputation for helping students pass examinations through dishonest means. He stressed that any system which rewards students for cheating ultimately undermines those who genuinely prepare and work hard for their examinations, and called instead for an examination culture where success is determined strictly by knowledge, preparation, and competence rather than access to assistance during test conditions.

While acknowledging that WAEC had not received any official confirmation identifying a specific school in Benue as a miracle centre, Manga said the examination body would continue monitoring the situation closely, with a commitment to setting an example should any such centre eventually be identified.

Weighing in on the same issue, Rebecca Ezekiel, a teacher at NKST Secondary School, Makurdi, argued that establishing independent examination centres, separate from the schools where candidates receive instruction, could help reduce the influence individual schools and teachers currently have over examinations such as WAEC and the National Examination Council (NECO). She explained that adopting CBT more broadly would give examination bodies greater control over test venues, supervisory personnel, and overall security arrangements surrounding examinations.

According to Ezekiel, candidates ought to be examined under conditions that are fully independent of the schools where they received their instruction, a structural safeguard she believes would go a long way in reducing opportunities for malpractice. She further recommended the deployment of additional monitoring technologies, including biometric verification systems and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, to strengthen security and oversight during examinations.

However, not everyone in the education sector agrees that circumstantial signs point conclusively to malpractice. Jude Odeh, a school proprietor in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, pushed back on the idea that admitting new students into a school's final year automatically qualifies that institution as a "miracle centre." While he acknowledged having heard allegations about the existence of such centres within the state, he said he had yet to identify any specific school actually operating as one.

Odeh offered an alternative explanation for some of the patterns being observed, noting that parents sometimes transfer their children to different schools for a variety of legitimate reasons, including the high cost of examination registration fees and general school fees. He explained that when examination fees, sometimes charged arbitrarily by schools, are combined with regular tuition costs, the resulting financial burden can become too heavy for some parents to bear, prompting them to seek more affordable options elsewhere rather than to chase easier grading. He added that he was personally aware of schools in Benue State that deliberately avoid admitting new students directly into SS3, insisting on registering only those who had been promoted through the standard SS2 pathway.

The exchange reflects an ongoing national debate around examination integrity in Nigeria, where "miracle centres" have long been a recurring concern for bodies such as WAEC and NECO. Computer-based testing has increasingly been proposed by education stakeholders as a structural solution capable of reducing human interference in examination administration, even as some educators caution against over-generalising legitimate enrollment patterns as evidence of malpractice.