Abuja, Nigeria – The Federal Government has approved a significant increase in the registration fee for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), raising the cost from ₦27,500 to ₦50,000 per candidate beginning in 2027.
The new fee represents an 82 percent increase and is expected to affect millions of students and their families across the country.
The approval was contained in a statement dated June 18 and signed by Adeniji Ibrahim, Director of Senior Secondary Education at the Federal Ministry of Education. According to the ministry, the decision followed a formal request by WAEC for an upward review of the SSCE registration fee in response to rising operational costs associated with conducting the examinations.
The statement explained that the decision was reached after a March 31, 2026 meeting between the Minister of Education and representatives of examination bodies, where the funding challenges facing the conduct of public examinations were discussed.
As part of the reforms, the Minister of Education also directed both WAEC and NECO to adopt a uniform registration fee for the Senior School Certificate Examinations to ensure consistency in examination charges nationwide.
Under the new policy, Nigerian parents and guardians will be required to pay ₦50,000 to register each candidate for either the WAEC or NECO SSCE from the 2027 examination cycle.
The fee increase has sparked widespread reactions from students, parents, education stakeholders, and opposition figures. Critics argue that the new registration cost could place additional financial pressure on households already struggling with the rising cost of living and inflation.
Some education advocates have expressed concern that the increase may discourage students from low-income families from registering for the examinations unless adequate financial support or intervention programmes are introduced.
However, government officials maintain that the review is necessary to sustain the quality, credibility, and smooth administration of the country’s secondary school examinations amid increasing operational expenses.
The Federal Ministry of Education has not yet announced any subsidy or financial assistance package for indigent candidates, but stakeholders have called on both the federal and state governments to consider support measures to ensure that no eligible student is denied access to the examinations because of financial constraints.
