The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to adopt Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres—both private and public—for the conduct of school-based Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), beginning fully in 2026.
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday after inspecting a pilot CBT SSCE conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO) at Sascon International School, Maitama, Abuja.
Alausa praised NECO for the smooth execution of the pilot CBT exam, noting that subsequent school-based examinations conducted by NECO and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) will no longer take place in individual schools but at designated CBT centres nationwide.
“We’re moving away from the traditional method of conducting WAEC and NECO exams in schools,” the minister said. “Just like JAMB exams, school-based SSCEs will now be conducted in CBT centres. There are thousands of them across the country with sufficient capacity.”
He added that deploying CBT centres for SSCEs will help expand their utility beyond JAMB exams, thereby creating more jobs and opportunities in the education and tech sectors.
“The owners of these CBT centres have invested billions of naira. By engaging them for NECO and WAEC, we are expanding the value chain and supporting Nigerian entrepreneurs developing homegrown solutions,” Alausa said.
He also announced a phased transition to CBT, starting with multiple-choice exams. “By November this year, objective sections of NECO and WAEC exams will be fully CBT. By 2026, both essay and objective components will be conducted entirely through CBT.”
NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi, who accompanied the minister during the inspection, affirmed NECO’s readiness to embrace CBT, despite infrastructural challenges in remote areas.
“We are ready as a professional body to conduct exams in any format,” Wushishi said. “Though infrastructure remains a concern in some parts of the country, we believe we can manage it. We call on state governments to support by providing necessary CBT infrastructure.”
He emphasized that CBT will reduce exam malpractice and improve the integrity and quality of assessments.
“We are optimistic that with adequate support, this transition will elevate the credibility and global competitiveness of Nigeria’s examination system,” he added.
