FG insists on transitioning NECO, WAEC, and other exams to CBT — no going back
FG insists on transitioning NECO, WAEC, and other exams to CBT — no going back
The Federal Government has affirmed its commitment to fully transition the National Examinations Council (NECO), West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and other public examination bodies from paper-based to Computer-Based Test (CBT) formats by 2026, with no plans to reverse the decision.
Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja while monitoring the pilot CBT version of the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by NECO at Sascon International School, Maitama.
A total of 1,367,210 candidates registered to participate in this year’s school-based SSCE, a figure NECO described as the highest so far.
Reacting to complaints by the public on the lack of adequate infrastructure to support the phasing out of paper-pencil examinations, Alausa disclosed that both privately-owned CBT centres and those belonging to public institutions would be fully deployed in the conduct of the examinations.
Alausa, who hailed NECO for the seamless conduct of the pilot phase of the CBT SSCE, said that in the 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 conducted at CBT centres. We have thousands of CBT centres across the nation.
“Those are the centres 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 service JAMB alone.
“They should be able to service WAEC and NECO. The proprietors of these businesses, the owners of these businesses, have invested billions of naira to set up these CBT centres. So we also have to help develop a new value chain in our economy.
economy.
“They will create jobs. You see a lot of computer hardware and software. And more importantly, we have entrepreneurs in Nigeria that are creating and developing these solutions. These are home-grown solutions. We should all be proud. Today, we should all stand tall and be proud of what we utilise.
“These are the kinds of opportunities that President Bola Tinubu is unleashing in every sector of his economy.”
Alausa further commended NECO for its preparedness to fully transition to CBT, noting that the pilot was a demonstration of capacity and commitment to reform.
“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.
“I have to commend the Registrar of NECO for the hard work that he and his team have deployed to get us to this stage, because when we decided that we’re going to go CBT, everybody thought this was an insurmountable task, but today, we’ve seen that this is a process, this is a transition that is possible.
“We just have to work hard to get there. We cannot continue with this madness of exam malpractice, our exams being caught with cheating and leaked questions—both WAEC and NECO. If we allow this to continue, it will destroy the capacity of our youth, of our children.”
He also disclosed a phased rollout of the CBT format across all school examinations, starting with objective questions this year.
“I’m a very happy person today that NECO has transited to CBT from paper-based. By November of this year, both NECO and WAEC objective exams will be fully CBT.
“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, acknowledged that there were obvious infrastructure challenges, but said this would not hamper the Council from conducting CBT examinations, stressing that NECO, as a professional examination body, is ready to conduct examinations using any medium.
After monitoring the ongoing NECO Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) alongside members of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education at Government Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja, NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, reiterated the Council’s readiness to transition fully to the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode of examination.
“NECO is prepared, as a professional examination body, to conduct exams using any platform,” Wushishi said. “While infrastructure challenges are evident, they won’t hinder our progress. There are facilities available that will allow us to implement CBT, and we are ready to move forward. We understand that certain remote areas across the country may pose difficulties unless special infrastructure is provided. Nonetheless, we are fully prepared to adapt.”
He urged state governments to expedite the provision of CBT infrastructure to support the transition, stressing that such efforts would help curb exam malpractice and enhance the overall quality of assessments, results, and certification. He further emphasized the global recognition of NECO certificates and expressed optimism about extending their international credibility.
Prof. Wushishi disclosed that 1,367,210 candidates registered for this year’s SSCE — the highest number to date. Of this total, 685,551 are male, while over 681,300 are female. Kano State recorded the highest number of candidates with over 137,000, while Kebbi State had the fewest, with just over 5,000. The Nigerian International School in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, had the lowest number of registered candidates, with only eight.
Meanwhile, after visiting Model Secondary School in Maitama, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Senator Ekong Samson, reaffirmed the legislature’s commitment to ensuring a smooth transition to CBT exams.
“We live in a digital era. Nigeria must align with global educational standards, and we, as lawmakers, are committed to implementing whatever is necessary to modernize our system,” he stated, adding that the Senate would continue monitoring the process to uphold education quality.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies, Hon. Oboku Oforji (PDP, Bayelsa), who led an oversight visit to monitor the NECO SSCE at Federal Government Boys College, Apo, Abuja, praised NECO for its seamless conduct of the exams.
“NECO is a vital institution. We take pride in its achievements, and we commend Prof. Wushishi’s leadership. We’ve observed the students’ dedication firsthand and are impressed,” he said.
After monitoring the ongoing NECO Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) alongside members of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education at Government Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja, NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, reiterated the Council’s readiness to transition fully to the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode of examination.
“NECO is prepared, as a professional examination body, to conduct exams using any platform,” Wushishi said. “While infrastructure challenges are evident, they won’t hinder our progress. There are facilities available that will allow us to implement CBT, and we are ready to move forward. We understand that certain remote areas across the country may pose difficulties unless special infrastructure is provided. Nonetheless, we are fully prepared to adapt.”
He urged state governments to expedite the provision of CBT infrastructure to support the transition, stressing that such efforts would help curb exam malpractice and enhance the overall quality of assessments, results, and certification. He further emphasized the global recognition of NECO certificates and expressed optimism about extending their international credibility.
Prof. Wushishi disclosed that 1,367,210 candidates registered for this year’s SSCE — the highest number to date. Of this total, 685,551 are male, while over 681,300 are female. Kano State recorded the highest number of candidates with over 137,000, while Kebbi State had the fewest, with just over 5,000. The Nigerian International School in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, had the lowest number of registered candidates, with only eight.
Meanwhile, after visiting Model Secondary School in Maitama, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Senator Ekong Samson, reaffirmed the legislature’s commitment to ensuring a smooth transition to CBT exams.
“We live in a digital era. Nigeria must align with global educational standards, and we, as lawmakers, are committed to implementing whatever is necessary to modernize our system,” he stated, adding that the Senate would continue monitoring the process to uphold education quality.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies, Hon. Oboku Oforji (PDP, Bayelsa), who led an oversight visit to monitor the NECO SSCE at Federal Government Boys College, Apo, Abuja, praised NECO for its seamless conduct of the exams.
“NECO is a vital institution. We take pride in its achievements, and we commend Prof. Wushishi’s leadership. We’ve observed the students’ dedication firsthand and are impressed,” he said.
