…as Atiku warns hike will price millions out-of-school
The Federal Government has approved an 82 per cent increase in examination fees for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), raising the registration fee for candidates sitting the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) to N50,000 from 2027.
The new fee replaces the current registration charge of N27,500 and will apply to candidates taking the internal SSCE examinations conducted by both examination bodies.
The approval was conveyed in a statement dated June 18 and signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Adeniji Ibrahim.
According to the ministry, the decision followed a request by WAEC for an upward review of examination fees beginning from 2027.
The statement explained that the approval stemmed from resolutions reached during a meeting between the Minister of Education and examination bodies on March 31, 2026, where stakeholders considered the rising cost of conducting the examinations.
Following deliberations at the meeting, the minister directed WAEC and NECO to adopt a uniform registration fee for their respective Senior School Certificate Examinations.
“You may recall that at a meeting of examination bodies held with the Honourable Minister of Education on 31 March, 2026, where the need for upward review of examination fees was discussed, the Honourable Minister directed that WAEC and NECO should adopt a uniform fee for the conduct of WAEC and NECO SSCE,” the statement read.
It added that the Minister of Education had approved the sum of N50,000 as the new examination fee per candidate, effective from the 2027 NECO Senior School Certificate Examination (Internal).
The ministry further directed that the decision be communicated to all relevant stakeholders ahead of its implementation.
The revised charge represents an increase of N22,500 over the current N27,500 fee, translating to an 82 per cent rise in the cost of registering candidates for the examinations.
Confirming the development, the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, said the government had approved the upward review.
“I can confirm the approval of an upward review of the examination fees. I spoke with the director in charge a few minutes ago and he said the approval was done,” she said.
The government said the new fee would take effect from the 2027 NECO Senior School Certificate Examination, while WAEC is also expected to implement the approved rate in line with the directive establishing a uniform examination fee for both examination bodies.
The development is expected to affect thousands of secondary school candidates across the country who sit the annual Senior School Certificate Examinations conducted by WAEC and NECO.
Reacting to the announcement, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, strongly condemned the policy, warning that it would effectively deny millions of vulnerable Nigerian children access to basic education.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku berated the President Bola Tinubu-led administration for worsening the financial burdens of families already reeling under harsh economic realities.
“It is unconscionable that at a time when Nigerian families are battling record inflation, soaring food prices, rising transportation costs, crippling electricity tariffs, stagnant incomes, and widespread unemployment, the Tinubu administration has chosen to make education even more expensive,” Atiku stated.
Atiku further highlighted Nigeria’s existing crisis of hosting one of the world’s largest out-of-school populations, currently estimated between 10.5 million and 15 million children.
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He argued that instead of erecting structural filters and financial roadblocks, a government confronted with a national emergency should be investing aggressively to bring those children back into classrooms.
The former Vice President emphasized that higher fees create a systemic barrier to tertiary education for indigent students, cutting short their educational journey long before they ever reach an admission gate.
This policy also creates a double punishment alongside existing infrastructure deficits, as public universities already admit fewer than 700,000 of the 2 million candidates who apply annually.
The former VO further questioned the government’s heavy emphasis on the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), stating that a tertiary student loan offers zero comfort to a child who is priced out of secondary school long before reaching university gates.
The ADC chieftain concluded by calling on President Tinubu to immediately shelve the ₦50,000 exam fee directive, reverse the recent hikes in Unity School fees, and bring together key stakeholders to chart a sustainable, accessible financing path for public education.
