SSCE fee hike: Examination bodies would have generated N175bn annually — Investigation

Nigeria's examination bodies, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), stood to gain significantly from a proposed N50,000 registration fee per candidate. An analysis of 2025 candidate figures reveals that if the Federal Government had not reversed this plan, the two bodies could have collectively generated more than N175 billion annually.

In 2025, a total of 3,506,489 candidates registered for examinations administered by WAEC and NECO. This figure includes both internal and external candidates. At the proposed fee of N50,000 per student, the total revenue from these registrations would have amounted to approximately N175.3 billion.

The breakdown shows 1,973,365 candidates registered for WAEC's May/June Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in Nigeria, with 1,969,313 eventually sitting the exam. WAEC's private candidate examinations also saw participation, with 9,054 candidates in the First Series and 65,752 in the Second Series Computer-Based Test (CBT) for private candidates. NECO registered 96,979 candidates for its external SSCE and 1,367,210 for its internal SSCE.

This revenue projection emerged against the backdrop of the Federal Government's controversial proposal to increase examination fees. The potential revenue was not solely reliant on internal candidates; WAEC's General Certificate of Education (GCE) for private candidates is a significant revenue stream. From 2021 to 2025, WAEC reportedly generated N7.39 billion from these private candidate exams alone, driven by a 50% fee hike and a shift to CBT. WAEC had previously justified fee increases for school candidates, from N13,950 to N27,000, citing rising costs for printing, logistics, security, and examiner remuneration, alongside the implementation of CBT. Additional fees from banks, agents, and cybercafés push the actual cost for candidates between N28,000 and N32,000.