FG orders WAEC, NECO to Adopt Computer-Based Testing by 2026

The Federal Government has directed both the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) to transition to complete Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for all their examinations by 2026.

This announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, while monitoring the ongoing examinations alongside officials of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Bwari on Monday.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), over 2 million candidates are participating in the ongoing exams at more than 800 centres nationwide.

Dr. Alausa disclosed that WAEC and NECO would begin conducting their objective papers using CBT from November this year, with plans to fully adopt the system for both essay and objective questions by May or June 2026.

He noted, “If JAMB can successfully conduct CBT exams for more than 2.2 million candidates, WAEC and NECO can do the same. We are going to get WAEC and NECO to also start their objective exam on CBT. By 2026 exams which will come up in May/June, both the objectives and the essay will be fully on CBT. That is how we can eliminate exam malpractices.”

The minister also revealed that a committee is currently reviewing examination standards across the country, with their recommendations expected next month.

Meanwhile, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, while addressing concerns about early exam schedules, clarified that the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has always commenced at 8:00 a.m., with candidates expected at the venue by 6:30 a.m. for accreditation.

He dismissed complaints about early arrival, stressing the importance of screening candidates before each session begins. “We have always started our exams at 8 o’clock. The first session is 8 o’clock, second session 10:30, third session 1 p.m, and fourth session 3:30 p.m,” he explained.

Prof. Oloyede also denied claims that candidates were assigned to centres they did not choose, stating investigations had found no such cases. He confirmed that out of 2.03 million registered candidates, more than 1.6 million had completed their exams, with about 50,000 yet to sit.

He further disclosed that over 40 candidates had been arrested for various forms of malpractice, including impersonation and attempting to smuggle out exam questions with hidden cameras.

Additionally, he revealed that over 41,000 registered candidates were underage.