The Federal Government has approved a new registration fee of N50,000 for candidates sitting for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
The new fee will take effect from the 2027 examination cycle and will apply to internal candidates in secondary schools across the country.
Under the new arrangement, NECO candidates will pay N50,000, up from the current N30,000, while WAEC candidates will also pay N50,000, representing an increase from the existing N27,000 registration fee.
The approval was conveyed in an official 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 discussions between the Ministry of Education and examination bodies over the rising cost of conducting public examinations nationwide.
An excerpt from the memo stated that the West African Examinations Council had requested an upward review of examination fees for school candidates beginning in 2027. It further recalled that during a meeting of examination bodies with the Minister of Education on March 31, 2026, it was agreed that WAEC and NECO should adopt a uniform examination fee for the SSCE.
The memo consequently approved Fifty Thousand Naira (N50,000) as the new registration fee for candidates, effective from the 2027 NECO SSCE Internal Examination, and directed that the information be communicated to all relevant stakeholders.
The development is expected to spark reactions from parents, education stakeholders, and state governments, many of whom have already expressed concerns over the increasing cost of secondary education.
Several state governments currently pay examination registration fees for students in public secondary schools. The latest increase is expected to place additional pressure on state finances, particularly in states already struggling to meet financial obligations to examination bodies.
Education stakeholders have also raised concerns that the new fee could discourage some students from registering for the examinations, especially in states where governments do not subsidize examination costs. They warn that the increase may negatively affect enrollment if families are unable to bear the higher financial burden.
In Lagos State, the state government currently covers WAEC registration fees for eligible public school students, while many parents pay for NECO registration themselves. With the new uniform fee of N50,000, parents and guardians are expected to face significantly higher education expenses from the 2027 examination cycle.
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