“Run it with tech” – How AI, UV pens, and more now aid cheating in exams

In examination halls across the country, at university or secondary school levels, cheating has entered a new phase that blurs the lines between desperation and digital literacy. Gone were the days when students snuck in folded papers covered completely by learning material they hoped would appear in their question papers or fought to sit beside the cleverest classmate. Students are finding new, and digital, ways to by-pass unsuspecting invigilators and stringent examination conditions in their desperation for academic success.

A Mass Communication graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) who asked to remain anonymous, explains that he didn’t see himself as one of the cleverest in class. But he wanted to graduate with his mates, so he got “creative”.

His creativity revolved around his Apple Watch, which became his ultimate exam companion.

“There were three ways I used it,” he says. “I snapped my notes and marked them as favourites so they showed up on the watch. I also used Document Pro, which works like WPS or Word. But the game-changer was an AI app called Genie.”

Genie, similar to ChatGPT but compatible with smartwatches, allowed him to scribble exam questions directly on the screen using a stylus. In return, it generated detailed answers, all without raising suspicion. “Once I started using AI, I didn’t need the other methods anymore. You just write or type the question, and boom, explanation,” he says.  Five other students in universities from Western to North Central Nigeria who spoke anonymously to TechCabal about their use of smartwatches during examinations, confirmed the tactics.

His classmate, who said he couldn’t afford a smartwatch, turned to something more basic: “I summarised key points after reading and sent them to myself as SMS. During the exam, I kept the phone on my desk,” he recalls. The Nokia button phone had no internet capabilities, so invigilators completely overlooked it.

In Lagos, a secondary school student devised a method that involved writing answers on his desk in invisible ultraviolet (UV) ink before a WAEC exam. “The maths questions had leaked the night before, so I solved them and wrote the answers on my desk with a UV pen early in the morning before anyone could come to the hall,” he said. “Only ultraviolet light could reveal it.”

The pen had a tiny built-in button that he could press to shine UV light on what he had written, revealing the answers. The method worked so well that he used it for two additional subjects without detection.

At Benue State University (BSU), a Geography student perfected a different tactic: a discreet Bluetooth earbud connected to a phone positioned outside the exam hall. She made sure to sit at the back of the examination hall to maintain Bluetooth range. “I used my hair to hide the earbud and asked Google Assistant the questions,” she says. “I set my phone to automatically turn off its screen after two hours to avoid any light. I’d press the bud, whisper the question, and get the answer back in audio.”

Outsmart or be left behind: Why students cheat

These aren’t isolated stories of individual mischief but reflect a growing pattern of a digital workaround culture that many students view as necessary for survival.

Another smartwatch user who is still a student at UNN, and used it in his last exam in April, explains that his motivation wasn’t laziness but fear of not graduating with his set. “Honestly, graduation is the only thing on my mind right now. I did not plan to cheat at all. I used to read but my grades were not reflective of my efforts. I had to find another way to catch up.”

Others point to deeper frustrations with the system itself and how they perceive it as fundamentally broken. A political science student at the University of Lagos says he started cheating in his second year not because he wanted to, but because he felt the system had already failed him. “Education here is about how much you can pay. Some lecturers ask for money. Others force you to buy textbooks that teach what we already know. So what’s the point of reading when you can just run it with tech?”

Not everyone succumbs to the pressure, however. Elijah Okoh, a student at BSU, admits that the temptation is very real. “I see people who cheat. Some of them do it so well that I doubt they’ll ever get caught. But I just can’t bring myself to do it. The fear of being rusticated and disgracing my family is too strong.”

Sunday, another student from the Department of Industrial Technology at the same university, says he tried cheating once and gave up quickly. “My second-year first semester was overwhelming. I was struggling to finish the materials for my courses, so I resorted to using my phone. But I still failed some courses. That was my first and last time.”

Playing catch-up

Universities are not sitting idle. Many actively fight back by banning smart devices in examination halls, increasing the number of invigilators, and monitoring student movement. But these efforts often fall short, especially in institutions lacking the tools to detect AI-powered devices.

“We’re always playing catch-up, never ahead,” admits a UNN staff member who requested anonymity. “Authorities punish some students, but the chronic cheats get away, especially now that students are combining traditional cheating tricks with tech.”

“I have caught some students in the past and I only tore their scripts for them to come back next year,” he says.

Even more troubling, he says, are cases where lecturers themselves are complicit. “Some of my colleagues help students cheat. Students pay them in advance to either leak questions or ignore what happens during the exam.”

Despite the widespread malpractice, legal consequences remain severe on paper. Nigeria’s Examination Malpractice Act of 1999 states that any act of cheating is punishable by a fine of up to ₦100,000 or three years in prison. For exam officials who assist students, the penalty can go up to five years imprisonment with no fine option.

Yet students say they rarely feel the weight of these laws. “You just need to be careful,” Emmanuel, an engineering student at UNN says. “The tech does most of the work. Unless you’re reckless, no one will know.”

The UNN staff said following the provisions of the examination act is not something difficult, but expressed doubt in its full application anywhere in the country.

Even when authorities catch students, enforcement is inconsistent. Punishments vary across institutions, and some students can rewrite exams or simply receive a warning.

Nigeria’s education authorities are leaning into digital reform. Education minister Dr. Tunja Alausa has said that the government plans to fully transition the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examinations to Computer-Based Testing mode by 2027 in a bid to curb cheating in addition to easing administrative stress. 

Other educational institutions are also experimenting with technological deterrents. The Nigerian Law School in Abuja has installed CCTV cameras in exam halls to detect cheating. Enugu State University of Science and Technology introduced biometric data capturing in exam halls to deter impersonation. Achievers University and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka have adopted biometric verification systems and mixed seating plans to prevent impersonation and collusion during CBT-type examinations. There’s also a federal government-level proposal to create a National Examination Malpractice Tribunal to enable faster prosecutions via the implementation of the Malpractice Act (1999).

Still, reformers caution that no technology can replace structural reforms. Without investment in teacher training, smarter curriculum design, and a fundamental shift in academic culture, cheating will simply continue to evolve.

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