Fed Govt Increases WAEC, NECO Registration Fees To N50,000 …”Insensitive”, The Poor Laments

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Effective 2027, parents  and guardians are to pay more for their children and wards to participate in the West African Examination Council, WAEC, and the National Examination Council, NECO, Senior School Certificate SSCE.

The Federal Government has increased registration fees by as much as 82 per cent.

According to a statement from Adeniyi Ibrahim ,the spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Education, prospective candidates are to pay a new registration fee of N50,000 as against the old rate of N27 ,000.

The statement emphasized that the upward  review of the examination fees was reached at a consultative meeting among industry stakeholders, examination bodies and the Ministry of Education held on March 31, 2026.

Accordingly, industry operators were said to have reviewed the present circumstances, and arrived at the decision to align fees payable for the examinations with realities on the ground.

Similarly, the registration fees for both  WAEC and NECO examinations have been harmonized, with all candidates paying the same N50,000.

The statement reads in part: “You may recall that at a meeting of examination bodies held with the Honourable Minister of Education on 31st March, 2026, where the need for an 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 ( N50,000.00) only, as the new examination fee per candidate with effect from SSCE ( Internal) 2027.”

Not a few people have described this raise as not only insensitive, but aimed at denying children of the poor the opportunity to participate in the examinations.