WAEC/NECO: FG Concludes Plans to Engage Private CBT Centres in 2026

•As house committee pledges collaboration with exam bodies to enhance education standards  

•FG reveals 1,367,210 candidates registered for SSCE

KuniTyessi and Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The federal government has revealed plans have been concluded indicating privately-owned Computer Based Test (CBT) centres and others belonging to public institutions would be fully deployed in the conduct of school-based Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) by 2026.

In a related development, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education Examination Bodies has pledged to collaborate with the National Examination Council (NECO), the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), and other relevant examination bodies to uplift the quality of education across the country.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education, Dr. TunjiAlausa, revealed privately-owned Computer Based Test (CBT) centres will be henceforth deployed after monitoring a pilot CBT SSCE conducted by National Examinations Council (NECO) at Sascon International School, Maitama, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Alausa, who hailed NECO for the seamless conduct of the pilot phase of the CBT SSCE, said future school-based SSCEs would be moved to designated CBT centres, rather than being held within schools.

He said: “WAEC and NECO exams are school-based exams being conducted at their schools. No, we will move away from that.

“It is going to be like the way JAMB exams are being conducted at CBT centres. We have thousands of CBT centres across the nation.

“Those are the centers that we are going to use. It’s not a case that students do not have the facilities. Schools do not have the facilities.

“We have enough people. We also have to expand the value chain of these CBT centres. They should not just be to service JAMB alone.

“It will create jobs. You see a lot of computer, hardware, and software. More importantly, we have entrepreneurs in Nigeria that are creating and developing these solutions. These are homegrown solutions. Today, we should all stand tall and be proud of what we utilize.

“This is the first in the history of NECO, which is conducting its annual O-Level Certificate exams for SS3 students. This is a pilot that we pushed to have, and I must tell you, I was very impressed with what I saw.

He also disclosed a phased rollout of CBT format across all school exams starting with objective questions this year.

“And by next year, 2026, all the essays and objective exams will be CBT. NECO and WAEC will be joining the league of JAMB. We are making significant progress,” he added.

Registrar of NECO, Prof. Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi, expressed the readiness of the exam body for CBT.

He revealed that a total of 1,367,210 candidates registered for this year’s SSCE, the highest figure so far. Of these, 685,551 are male and over 681,300 are female.

According to him, Kano State had the highest number of registered candidates with more than 137,000, while Kebbi had the least, just above 5,000.

He also noted the centre with the lowest number of candidates was the Nigerian International School in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which registered eight students.

He said: “We are very much ready to do that as a professional body. Provisional infrastructures, we are calling for government at the state level to speed up making provision for CBT infrastructures in their states, because that will highly support the process.

“And we are very happy that the results and certificates are recognized globally and we need to also do more in order to reach out across the world on our certificates and results. So NECO is fully ready as far as that is concerned.”

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education Examination Bodies gave the assurance of collaboration with exam bodies on Tuesday through the Committee’s Chairman, Hon. ObokuOforji (PDP, Bayelsa), alongside other committee members during an oversight visit to selected schools in Abuja to monitor the administration of NECO examinations.

During the inspection, the lawmakers visited two schools in the Federal Capital Territory: Federal Government Boys College in Apo and the Model Secondary School in Maitama.

While speaking to the press during the visit, Hon. Oforji explained that the tour was part of the National Assembly’s constitutional mandate, which the Committee is executing through such oversight activities.

He emphasized the importance of NECO, stating, “We came to observe NECO’s operations. NECO plays a crucial role – it’s a homegrown body, unlike WAEC which operates on a regional level across West Africa. We are very impressed with the work NECO is doing under the leadership of Professor Ibrahim Wushishi.”

While praising NECO’s current performance, he noted the committee’s visit aimed to understand the efforts to curb examination malpractice and ensure exam integrity.

“We’ve seen the dedication of the students and are proud of their efforts. We hope NECO maintains this pace, as it promises a brighter future.”

He also described the verification process observed at the exam centers, highlighting that students’ identities were verified using master sheets with passport photos before they could enter the examination hall.

Additionally, supervisors were seen confirming attendance and maintaining proper records.

Oforji stressed that maintaining this level of rigor could significantly improve the future of the country’s education system.

“What we’ve seen today gives us hope. We believe in our nation’s potential. If this standard is sustained, the future looks very promising.”

He added that lawmakers believe the ongoing reforms across examination bodies will enhance the overall quality of education – not just at NECO, but also at WAEC, JAMB, NABTEB, and others.

The Committee, he said, is committed to working closely with these organizations to bring meaningful improvements to the education sector.

He concluded by reaffirming the National Assembly’s commitment to this cause, stating: “We are actively involved through this oversight, and we’re determined to see these goals achieved. This is a positive step for Nigeria, and by God’s grace, we will succeed.”