The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has shifted the commencement of its Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) in full computer-based (CBT) mode to 2027, rather than 2026, as previously directed by the Federal Government.
The 2026 May/June WASSCE will still be a test run pilot of the full-CBT format, with students having the option of sitting for their papers in either CBT or paper-and-pen format.
The Chairman of Nigeria National Committee (NNC) of WAEC, who is the Federal Government’s Nominee, Hajia Binta Abdulkadir, gave the hint on Thursday at the opening session of this year’s Annual Meeting of NNC (63rd edition) in Umuahia, Abia State.
NNC is the highest decision-making organ of WAEC for Nigeria, and the committee comprises virtually all the education stakeholders in the country. Members meet once annually on a rotational basis among the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Abdulkadir, who is also a Director of Basic Education, Federal Ministry of Education, stated that NEC WAEC is aware of the concerns that the federal government directives to the examination bodies to migrate to full-CBT by 2026 have been raised among the stakeholders.
“So, I want to assure that no candidate sitting the 2026 WASSCE will be disenfranchised in any form,” she stressed.
Hajia Abdukadir explained some of the recent efforts made by WAEC towards smooth migration to full-CBT mode, including the training of senior school students on the pilot test of the use of tablets and digital style in responding to Essay Questions on a computer, among others.
Speaking on the recent review of the Basic and Secondary School Curricula, she assured that no candidate would also be restricted from registering subjects from other subject groups or distinct elective fields.
Specifically, she said “Science students are not barred from taking Economics as an elective to complete their subject selection even as the period for Continuous Assessment Scores (CASS) uploading has been extended for accurate capturing of CASS for candidates, who must take new subjects in line with the Federal Government’s approved list for the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2026.”