“Magic Examination Centres” in Edo State: Behind the Walls of Nigeria’s Quietest Education Scandal
By Reporter
A disturbing report has revealed the growing influx of examination centres, popularly called ‘Magic centres’ in Edo State.
Investigation by Midwest Herald reveals a smouldering scam in the state’s examination monitoring system. The return of Senior Secondary School SS3 students to ‘exam magic centres,’ where examination malpractices are widespread brings to mind the story of a terrible past that robbed students and parents of quality certificates.
Education stakeholders are therefore expressing concern too, over this growing threat posed by fraudulent exam practices and illegal levies by these centres after paying enrolment and tuition in different schools. They are calling on Edo State Government to stop the drift to an era of examination malpractice.
A retired school principal in one of the big ‘Ivy’ schools—used as ‘magic centre’s described the fraud as “a silent theft of the future.” According to him, malpractice syndicates thrive on three things: desperation for results, weak institutional supervision, and a culture that judges success only by certificates, not competence.
According to our investigation, many of these so-called ‘magic schools’ lack proper infrastructure, qualified teachers, and genuine academic programs, yet they manage to secure accreditation from the state ministry of education.
A parent who volunteered information to Midwest Herald explained that, the real focus of these centres is not education but orchestrate mass cheating during national examinations and ensure high scores.
“These centres tend to have small class sizes in earlier years, from JS1 to SS2, but suddenly record a surge in student numbers in SS3, where they manipulate continuous assessment scores and facilitate cheating,” the source explained.
An insider told Midwest Herald that exam halls in these ‘magic centres’ are often chaotic, with invigilators, supervisors, and students colluding to ensure that candidates pass by any means necessary.
While the regulatory authority looks away from the corrupt system, parents pay exorbitant fees—sometimes running into hundreds of thousands of naira–to secure results for their wards at any cost.
Sadly, the involvement of parents in funding these illicit practices, make them complicit in the destruction of their children’s future. This discovery calls for stakeholders—including government agencies, school administrators, and examination bodies in Edo State education ecosystem—to enforce the ban on illegal levies and dismantle the fraudulent network behind these ‘magic centres’.
Also, a final-year secondary school student in one of the schools in Benin City, who asked not to be named, described the lure. “You just pay,” he said. “They tell you not to worry — answers will come. People who never attended classes are getting A’s.” Another candidate explained how invigilators allegedly allow phones into halls, dictation happens openly, or question papers are ‘solved’ before the exam begins.
If this menace is left unchecked, the proliferation of ‘exam magic centres’ will continue to devalue academic qualifications, erode educational standards, and produce secondary school graduates in Edo State that are unfit for national and global challenges.
A proprietor of one big school in Benin City, took our reporter round the empty Senior Secondary School 3 (SS3) classrooms, while lamenting the failure in the education system.
“Go round most of the schools in Edo State, all SS3 have migrated to ‘magic centres’ where they don’t need to read to pass.” He expressed concern for the future of examination system in Edo State.
For now, Edo State—like many parts of Nigeria, stands at a crossroads. It can either confront the quiet corruption of its examination culture or continue producing brilliant certificates with weak knowledge behind them.
