The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on Monday revealed that starting from November, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) will begin administering their objective tests through Computer-Based Testing (CBT).
Dr. Alausa made the announcement while monitoring the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) alongside officials from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Bwari, Abuja. He noted that over two million candidates had registered for the UTME, which is being conducted across more than 800 centres nationwide.
According to the minister, the complete transition to CBT for both objective and essay components of WAEC and NECO exams will take effect by May/June 2026.
“If JAMB can successfully organize CBT exams for over 2.2 million candidates, WAEC and NECO can do the same,” Alausa stated. “This move is essential to curb examination malpractice.”
He further disclosed that a committee is currently reviewing national examination standards, with its findings and recommendations expected to be released next month.
Meanwhile, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, also addressed concerns regarding the exam schedule. He clarified that UTME examinations have always commenced at 8:00 a.m., with candidates required to arrive by 6:30 a.m. for accreditation.
“We have four sessions daily — the first starts at 8:00 a.m., the second at 10:30 a.m., the third at 1:00 p.m., and the fourth at 3:30 p.m.,” Oloyede explained.
The registrar also dismissed reports of candidates being assigned to centres they did not select, stating that thorough investigations had found no evidence supporting such claims.
Oloyede confirmed that over 1.6 million of the 2.03 million registered candidates had already completed their UTME, with around 50,000 candidates still left to sit for the exam.
