Education:FG suspends planned increase in WAEC, NECO registration fees

The Federal Government has suspended the proposed review of registration fees for the 2027 West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), and the National Examinations Council (NECO), Senior School Certificate Examination, (SSCE), bowing to widespread public concerns and opting for extensive consultations with stakeholders.

It explained that examination registration fees had remained largely unchanged for several years despite rising operational expenses, including logistics, security, printing of examination materials, deployment of technology, quality assurance and other critical services required to preserve the integrity of public examinations.

The Ministry said the decision reflected its determination to ensure that policies affecting millions of students and their families are subjected to broad consultation and carefully weighed before implementation.

It added that the consultations would ensure that any future decision on examination fees is fair, sustainable, transparent and responsive to prevailing economic realities while protecting access to education.

The ministry stressed that the proposed increase would not take effect until the consultation process had been concluded and a final decision reached.

Reassuring Nigerians of the government’s commitment to education, the ministry said the welfare of students, equitable access to quality education and responsible policymaking remained central to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the education sector.