The Federal Government has approved a new registration fee of N50,000 for candidates sitting the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), effective from 2027.
The approval, granted through the Federal Ministry of Education, introduces a uniform fee for both examination bodies.
Under the new arrangement, NECO’s internal SSCE registration fee will increase from N30,000 to N50,000, while WAEC’s fee will rise from N27,000 to the same amount.
The approval was conveyed 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 stakeholders discussed the need to review examination fees and agreed that WAEC and NECO should adopt a uniform registration charge.
The ministry directed NECO to implement the new fee from the 2027 internal SSCE and ensure that all relevant stakeholders are informed.
The planned increase has already raised concerns among education stakeholders, with fears that states which currently sponsor candidates’ examination fees could face heavier financial burdens.
Parents have also expressed worries that the higher registration cost may prevent many students from registering for the examinations, particularly in states where governments do not pay the fees.
In Lagos State, the government currently covers the cost of WAEC registration for eligible candidates, while parents who can afford it pay for their children’s NECO registration.
