By Adesina Wahab & Omeiza Ajayi
The Federal Ministry of Education has given approval for the National Examinations Council, NECO and the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, to increase registration fee for their Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, SSCE, to N50,000 per candidate, beginning in 2027.
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The increment drew the ire of National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, and former vice president and presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, who described it as further punishment on already struggling parents and guardians.
The examinations are conducted for internal candidates who are finishing their Senior Secondary School education. WAEC just finished this year’s exam few weeks ago, while NECO’s ongoing.
The increase would see NECO SSCE internal examination fee jumping from N30,000 per candidate to N50,000, while that of WAEC would jump to the same amount from N27,000.
A memo approving the new rate, dated June 18, 2026, was signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Adeniji Ibrahim, on behalf of the Minister of Education.
The memo, sighted by Vanguard, and directed to the Registrar, NECO, read: “Re: Upward review of registration fees for examinations conducted by NECO
‘’The West African Examinations Council has requested an upward review of examination fees for Senior School Certificate Examination for school candidates with effect from 2027.
“You may recall that at a meeting of examination bodies held with the Minister of Education on March 31, 2026, where the need for upward review of examination fee was discussed, the Minister of Education directed that the West African Examinations Council and the National Examinations Council should adopt a uniform fee for the conduct of WAEC and NECO SSCE.
“Consequently, I am directed to convey the Minister of Education’s approval of the sum of Fifty Thousand Naira (N50,000) only, as the new examination fee for candidates with effect from NECO SSCE internal 2027.
‘’You are to bring the content of this letter to all stakeholders. Please accept the Minister’s warm regards.”
Meanwhile, there are indications that the development would further increase the debts owed the examination bodies by some state governments paying the exam fees of candidates,
Also, some parents are expressing the fear that many candidates might not be able to register for the exams in states where the government is not paying the fees.
In Lagos State for instance, the state government pays the fee for candidates writing WAEC SSCE and parents who can afford it, pay that of NECO for their children.
SSCE fee increase: NAPTAN says it is too high
Reacting to the increment yesterday, the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, described the increase as too high.
Speaking with Vanguard, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of NAPTAN, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the increase ought not to be that steep, bearing in mind all other expenses parents bear on their children.
“The increase is too high for our liking and acceptance. If the examination bodies are seeking increase, citing cost of living, I think it should be a bit progressive, may be at most 25 per cent. But what they are asking for now is surely over 75 per cent. That is on the high side.
“Apart from paying examination fees and others, parents have a lot of responsibilities on their children. There are other obligations to meet. The new rate will be a burden on parents and that is why we want them to have a rethink.
‘’Okay, what will now be the benefit if a child gets to SSS 3 class and is unable to register for the final examination on account of high registration fee. Let them please bring the rate down,’’ he pleaded.
Let parents reject or accept — NUT
When contacted on phone, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr Audu Titus Amba, noted that the issue was left for parents to reject or accept.
“NUT is for teachers and as a leader of the union, the welfare and issue concerning teachers are our focus. The issue of registration fee is left to parents to reject or accept,” he stated.
He promised to address a press conference on Monday to talk about issues relating to teachers and the education sector.
Reverse fees hike or risk explosion in out-of-school children, Atiku tells Tinubu
Also reacting, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, condemned the federal government’s continued escalation of the cost of public education, describing the recent increase in fees for Federal Unity Colleges and the reported approval of a uniform ₦50,000 examination fee for WAEC and NECO candidates from 2027 as cruel.
While noting that the policy was economically insensitive and fundamentally incompatible with government’s constitutional responsibility to make education accessible to every Nigerian child, the presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, said it was unconscionable that at a time Nigerian families were battling record inflation, soaring food prices, rising transportation costs, crippling electricity tariffs, stagnant incomes and widespread unemployment, President Bola Tinubu’s administration had chosen to make education even more expensive.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, yesterday, Atiku noted that education remained the greatest instrument of social mobility and the surest pathway out of poverty for millions of children from humble backgrounds.
He added that every additional financial burden imposed on parents translated into another child being denied the opportunity to learn, dream and contribute meaningfully to society.
“Nigeria already bears the painful distinction of having one of the largest populations of out-of-school children in the world. Depending on the methodology and age group measured, between 10.5 million and about 15 million Nigerian children and young people are already outside the classroom.
‘’Any government confronted with such a national emergency should be investing aggressively to bring these children back into school. Instead, this administration is choosing policies that will inevitably swell those numbers”, he said.
Atiku warned that increasing fees in Federal Unity Colleges, while imposing a significantly higher cost on WAEC and NECO examinations, would disproportionately affect children from poor and middle-income families whose parents were already making impossible choices among food, healthcare, transportation and education.
“The same administration whose policies are progressively narrowing access to public tertiary education continues to project the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, as one of its flagship achievements.
‘’Yet, a university loan offers little comfort to a child who has already been priced out of secondary education or cannot afford the qualifying examination required to secure admission.
‘’A government cannot credibly claim to be expanding access to higher education while simultaneously erecting financial barriers that prevent millions of young Nigerians from ever reaching the university gates.
“Genuine educational reform begins by making education affordable from the primary and secondary levels, expanding the carrying capacity of our tertiary institutions, and ensuring that poverty never becomes the reason a child is denied the opportunity to learn. A government that truly believes in education invests in classrooms before it invests in loans.
“No nation has ever taxed its way into educational excellence. Countries that aspire to economic greatness invest more, not less in education during difficult times because they understand that human capital is the engine of sustainable development.
‘’Nigeria cannot build a globally competitive economy while systematically pricing millions of its children out of classrooms,” he added.
Atiku called on President Tinubu to immediately reverse the increase in Unity School fees and the proposed N50,000 WAEC and NECO examination fee, and convene an urgent stakeholders’ dialogue on sustainable financing for public education.
“By the grace of Almighty God, I remain confident that Nigerians will reject policies that punish their children and make education the exclusive preserve of those who can afford it. The African Democratic Congress is committed to restoring education as a public good, not a privilege.
‘’An ADC-led government will not permit the implementation of this unjust and punitive increase in examination fees.
‘’Instead, we shall reverse policies that place education beyond the reach of ordinary families, expand access to quality education at every level, increase the carrying capacity of our tertiary institutions, and ensure that every Nigerian child, regardless of background, has a fair opportunity to learn, excel and fulfill his or her God-given potential,” he declared.
