The federal government has disclosed that it will proceed with the transition to computer-based testing (CBT) for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) by 2026.
Minister of Education Tunji Alausa expressed the government’s position during a guest appearance on a television programme, on Tuesday.
The declaration by the education minister follows growing concerns about the integrity of public examinations, particularly after the release of statistics from the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The statistics show that over 1.5 million of the 1.95 million candidates scored below 200 out of 400.
Responding to the poor UTME results and what they signify regarding learning outcomes at the senior secondary school level, Alausa described the situation as a major concern, emphasizing that it reflects examinations being conducted properly.
He disclosed that the government had undertaken a comprehensive review of the nation’s examination systems shortly after he assumed office.
The education minister reaffirmed that WAEC and NECO would commence the migration of their examinations to CBT from November 2025.
Alausa added that the examinations would begin with objective papers, with full implementation, including essay components, by May-June 2026.
