Examination fraud remains the main challenge for the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), especially amongst parents who constantly ask for their children to receive favorable treatment, regardless of whether they meet requirements. JAMB is also fighting corruption in higher education institutions that admit students outside of the guidelines of the Ministry of Education.

The cases of corruption in the education sector in Oyo State are ranging from reports of school administrators collecting money, students sitting mock exams, officials asking for grants from principals before distributing the school materials the government purchased for students to receiving money from teachers to deploy them to preferred areas. The governor announced that dismissal and prosecution awaited anyone who sabotaged government efforts through corrupt practices.

Exam malpractice is a highly organized "industry" between school proprietors, officials of the State Ministry of Education, officials of West African School Certificate examination, invigilators, machineries and the students themselves. According to a study, this is a result of poor implementation of examination rules, no fear of punishment, inadequate preparation for the exams, the disloyalty of examination body staff and students and parental threats. Many parents prefer to bribe the examiner rather than pay for extra lessons for their child, which may still not result in examination success.

The Kaduna State government has uncovered about 33 phony primary schools in some local government areas. The fake schools were detected during the first phase of biometric verification exercise of state employees ordered by the Governor. The government, which pays about N3 billion monthly as salaries and allowances to its employees, was said to have saved N120 million from fake employee disbursements in the first phase of the exercise.

Lawmakers in Ondo State have approved a jail term of between three and four years or a fine for principals who engage in examination malpractices in public schools. Any candidate who leaves an examination hall with intent to cheat or secure any unfair advantage for himself risk to pay a fine and/or three years imprisonment.

The National Teachers institute (NTI) has said emphasis on exam certificates by higher institutions and employers of labour is responsible for examination malpractice in the nation's institutions of learning. It also fingered poor teaching and administration by school heads – registering unqualified students, facilitating impersonation, using classrooms rather than halls to conduct exams as contributing to the menace of examination malpractices.