The Federal Government has come under criticism following its approval of a new ₦50,000 registration fee for candidates sitting the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examinations, effective from 2027.
Naijaonpoint reports that the new amount represents an increase of about 82 per cent from the current registration fee of ₦27,500 and is regarded as one of the sharpest increases in public examination charges in recent years.
Education experts, private school proprietors and political stakeholders warned that the increase could place an additional burden on struggling families, force more children out of school and undermine efforts to improve access to education.
The approval was conveyed in a letter dated June 18, 2026, and signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Adeniji Ibrahim.
The letter followed a request by WAEC for an upward review of the examination fees payable by candidates sitting the Senior School Certificate Examination from 2027.
According to the ministry, the decision was reached after a meeting between the Minister of Education and examination bodies on March 31, 2026, during which the increasing cost of conducting public examinations was discussed.
At the meeting, the minister reportedly directed WAEC and NECO to adopt a uniform registration fee for their respective Senior School Certificate Examinations.
The ministry stated, “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.
“Consequently, I am directed to convey the honourable minister of education’s approval of the sum of fifty thousand naira (₦50,000.00) only, as the new examination fee per candidate, with effect from NECO SSCE (Internal), 2027.”
The ministry also directed the Registrar of NECO to notify relevant stakeholders ahead of the implementation of the revised fee.
Confirming the development, the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, said the upward review had received official approval.
“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,” Boriowo said.
Although the ministry did not provide a detailed breakdown of the factors considered before approving the increase, examination bodies have repeatedly cited rising operational expenses as justification for periodic reviews of their charges.
The expenses include the cost of printing examination materials, logistics, security, supervision, technology deployment, transportation and general administration.
However, education stakeholders argued that families were already struggling with increases in tuition, transportation, textbooks, uniforms, feeding and other school-related expenses.
They warned that the new fee could make secondary school certification unaffordable for thousands of students, particularly those from low-income households.
There are also concerns about the financial implications for state governments that fully or partially sponsor candidates for WAEC and NECO examinations.
States operating free examination registration programmes may now require substantially higher budgetary allocations to sustain them, while those already struggling to meet existing obligations could come under additional pressure.
The National Mobilisation Officer of the Education Rights Campaign, Adaramoye Michael Lenin, described the decision as counterproductive and inconsistent with the government’s commitment to expanding access to education.
Speaking to Daily Trust, Lenin argued that the increase would worsen rather than reduce the number of out-of-school children in the country.
“This increase is not going to help curb the out-of-school crisis the government is trying to stop; rather, it will increase it. How does this help make education attractive to an already existing group of Nigerians who don’t fancy education?” he asked.
“With this increase, it seems education has been commercialised and it’s now a danger, looking at the existing poor infrastructure and learning environment.
“We have Nigerians facing economic challenges and adding this extra burden will see parents who can’t afford the fees withdraw their kids to come and join them on the farm, in markets or wherever they make a living. Students will be discouraged.
“As a group, we demand an immediate reversal of the fees. We condemn it in totality.”
Lenin said imposing higher examination charges at a time of inflation, declining purchasing power and widespread economic hardship could discourage school enrolment and undermine efforts to improve learning outcomes.
