The Federal Government has approved a N50,000 registration fee for National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) from 2027.
Thefrontrank reports that the 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, Dr Tunji Alausa.
Under the approval, NECO’s SSCE internal fee will rise from N30,000 to N50,000, while WAEC’s will increase from N27,000 to N50,000.
The memo read: “You may recall that at a meeting of examination bodies held with the Honourable Minister of Education on 31st March, 2026, where the need for upward review of examination fee 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.
“Consequently, I am directed to convey the Honourable 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.”
The ministry directed that the decision be communicated to all relevant stakeholders.
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 in their state
Also, some parents are expressing the fear that many candidates may not be able to register for the exams in states where the government is not paying the fees.
This is really absurd, most of the people at the helms of affairs in the council enjoy free education during old western region, why do they want children to be out of school?, minimum wage is 70k and you expect parents to pay 50k for waec, how do you expect corruption to stop when you make civil servants to pay through their noses?, it’s better this is reversed so as to help the low income families to be able to afford education for their children