FG Suspends Planned WAEC, NECO Fee Hike

The Federal Government has suspended its planned increase in registration fees for WAEC and NECO senior secondary examinations after public backlash over the proposed charges.

The Ministry of Education said it had withdrawn its June 18 letter on the fee adjustment and would carry out wider consultations before taking a final decision. The proposal would have affected the 2027 West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the NECO Senior School Certificate Examination.

Premium Times reported that the withdrawn letter asked WAEC and NECO to review SSCE costs to a uniform N50,000 per candidate. Channels TV said the increase would have moved the fee from N27,500 to N50,000, an 82 per cent rise.

The ministry said the proposal was driven by the rising cost of running national examinations, including logistics, security, printing, technology deployment and quality checks. It added that examination fees had stayed largely unchanged for several years while operational costs increased.

The government said no final decision would be taken until consultations are completed with relevant stakeholders. The suspension means the planned fee review will not proceed for now while the ministry reconsiders the policy.

Sources: Vanguard, Daily Trust, Premium Times, Channels TV