In what appears to be an effort to build trust in South Sudan’s secondary school education system, the National Examination Council (NEC) has cancelled the results of 87 students from Nimule Model Secondary School in Magwi County of Eastern Equatoria State, citing cheating cases when the national exams for the certificate for secondary education were being administered in December last year.

The cancellation was announced on Tuesday alongside the release of the results for the Certificate of Secondary Education 2025.

“In terms of irregularities, the council has nullified or cancelled results of one school, namely Nimule Model Secondary School, with 87 candidates in Eastern Equatoria State due to a serious breach of examination rules and regulations,” said Dr. Kuyok Abol Kuyok, Minister of General Education and Instruction.

“It [NEC] also awarded zero scores to 23 other candidates for the same cheating case,” he added.

The decision sent a shockwave through Magwi County and Eastern Equatoria State, as the 87 affected students are panicking and wailing, while other schools that performed well are celebrating their successes.

The school’s headteacher, Oryem Francis, has asked for pardon, saying the cancellation of all results is psychologically torturing both the affected students and teachers.

The overall mood among the learners and teachers is one of sorrow and suffering, said Oryem as quoted by Eye Radio.

Many learners may no longer re-register or continue their education. If errors have occurred, I kindly ask for understanding and forgiveness. We are human, and we can make mistakes, he added.

However, the examination council did not detail the extent of the cheating cases and the examination rules violations it documented at Nimule Model Secondary School.

Also, it is not clear whether the school administration commissioned the exam malpractices for the students, which resulted in the entire punishment or just individuals, which further raises concerns about how the decision to nullify the results was made and on what evident basis.

But over the years, there have been concerns about exam leakages to candidates via online messaging apps like WhatsApp and other platforms before the examination sitting begins across the country, a practice locally billed as machot.