The Federal Government has approved a new registration fee of ₦50,000 for candidates sitting the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), with the new rate taking effect from the 2027 examination cycle.

The approval represents an 85 per cent increase in examination fees and forms part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening the administration of public examinations and preparing Nigeria’s education sector for computer-based testing.

According to the new policy, the ₦50,000 fee will apply from the 2027 NECO SSCE (Internal) examinations following approval by the Federal Ministry of Education after consultations with examination bodies.

NECO Registrar’s take

Explaining the reasons for the increase, NECO Registrar, Professor Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, said the review became necessary due to rising operational costs.

According to him, there has been a “significant increase in the production costs of both sensitive and non-sensitive examination materials,” as well as a sharp rise in logistics and personnel deployment expenses.

He added that the review would also support “capacity development required to maintain international best practices and overall examination integrity.”

Wushishi further disclosed that the fee increase is tied to the Federal Government’s plan to modernise the conduct of public examinations across the country.

“The funds will strictly prepare the examination bodies for a brand new Federal Government policy,” he said, explaining that the initiative mandates “the complete migration of national assessments from traditional Pen and Paper Examinations (PPE) to Computer Based Examinations (CBE).”

According to him, the additional revenue will be channelled towards developing the technological infrastructure required to implement computer-based examinations nationwide.

With the new policy, candidates registering for both WAEC and NECO internal examinations will pay a uniform fee of ₦50,000 beginning with the 2027 academic session.

The Federal Government has advised schools, parents and guardians to begin making adequate financial preparations ahead of the implementation of the new fee structure.