The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NEOC) will switch to computer-based testing (CBT) by 2026, according to the Federal Government. This announcement was made by Education Minister Tunji Alausa during a guest appearance on Channels Television's The Morning Brief on Tuesday.
This revelation comes in the
wake of mounting doubts regarding the validity of public exams, especially in
light of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results,
which showed that more than 1.5 million of the 1.95 million applicants received
scores below 200 out of 400.
Responding
to the poor UTME results and what they signify regarding learning outcomes at
the senior secondary school level, the minister described the situation as a
major concern, emphasizing that it reflects examinations being conducted
properly.
“JAMB conducts its exam using a
computer-based testing system. They’ve implemented strong security measures,
and as a result, fraud or cheating has been nearly eliminated. Unfortunately,
we cannot say the same for WAEC and NECO,”
he said.
Alausa
disclosed that the government had undertaken a comprehensive review of the
nation’s examination systems shortly after he assumed office.
“We carried out a diagnostic review of how exams
are conducted nationwide. I set up a committee to investigate this, and I
expect to receive their report in the coming days,” he added.
He reaffirmed that WAEC and
NECO would start moving their exams to CBT in November 2025, starting with
objective exams, and finish the transition by May or June 2026, including essay
components.
“We have to use technology to fight this fraud.
There are so many ‘miracle centres’ and that is simply unacceptable. People
cheat during WAEC and NECO exams and then face JAMB, where cheating is nearly
impossible. That’s the disparity we’re seeing now. It’s sad,” Alausa said.
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