The Federal Government has announced plans to fully deploy privately owned Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, alongside those of public institutions, for conducting school-based Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) starting in 2026. This was disclosed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, during a monitoring visit to a pilot CBT SSCE conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO) at Sascon International School in Abuja.
Dr. Alausa praised NECO for the smooth execution of the pilot exam and said future school-based SSCEs will no longer be held within schools but at designated CBT centres nationwide. He explained that the process will mirror how the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exams are currently conducted. With thousands of CBT centres already established across Nigeria, the government plans to harness these facilities fully—not just for JAMB but also for WAEC and NECO exams.
Highlighting the entrepreneurial and economic opportunities, Alausa noted that proprietors have invested billions of naira in these centres, creating jobs and driving homegrown technological solutions in Nigeria’s education sector. He described this as part of the broader economic transformation being driven by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The Minister also revealed a phased rollout of the CBT format for school exams, starting with objective questions in November 2025. By 2026, both essay and objective exams for NECO and WAEC will be fully computer-based, effectively joining the league of JAMB’s digital exam system.
NECO’s Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, expressed the examination body’s readiness for the transition, emphasizing ongoing efforts to map schools to nearby CBT centres to ensure candidates have access to adequate facilities. He acknowledged challenges posed by the lack of ICT infrastructure in many schools and stated that using private and public CBT centres is the practical way forward.
This move marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s examination system aimed at enhancing transparency, reducing malpractice, and improving overall examination administration through technology.
