FG Approves N50,000 WAEC, NECO Registration Fees From 2027

The Federal Government has approved a uniform N50,000 registration fee for WAEC and NECO Senior School Certificate Examinations, effective from the 2027 examination cycle.

The Federal Government has approved an increase in the registration fees for the West African Examinations Council and the National Examinations Council Senior School Certificate Examination to N50,000 per candidate, effective from the 2027 examination cycle.

The approval was conveyed through the Federal Ministry of Education following a directive that both examination bodies adopt a uniform registration fee for their Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations.

Under the new arrangement, the NECO SSCE registration fee will rise from N30,000 to N50,000, while the WAEC SSCE fee will increase from N27,000 to N50,000.

The approval was contained in a memo dated June 18, 2026, signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Adeniji Ibrahim, on behalf of the Minister of Education.

According to the memo, the decision followed a meeting between the Minister of Education and examination bodies on March 31, 2026, where the need to review examination fees was discussed.

“The Honourable 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,” the memo stated.

It added that the minister had approved the sum of N50,000 as the new examination fee for candidates from the 2027 NECO SSCE Internal Examination, with stakeholders directed to be duly informed.

The development has, however, raised concerns among parents and education stakeholders, who fear the increase could make the examinations unaffordable for many candidates, particularly in states where governments do not pay examination fees.

There are also concerns that the higher fees may increase the financial obligations of state governments that currently sponsor candidates for the examinations.

In Lagos State, for instance, the government pays the registration fees for WAEC candidates, while parents who can afford it bear the cost of NECO registration for their children.