FG Raises WAEC, NECO Registration Fee to ₦50,000 from 2027

The Federal Government has approved a new uniform registration fee of ₦50,000 for candidates sitting the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), effective from the 2027 examination cycle.

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

Under the new policy, the NECO SSCE registration fee will increase from ₦30,000 to ₦50,000, while the WAEC fee will rise from ₦27,000 to the same amount, creating a uniform examination registration fee for both bodies.

The ministry said the adjustment followed a policy decision reached during a meeting between the Minister of Education and examination bodies on March 31, 2026, where both WAEC and NECO were directed to adopt a harmonised registration fee for their internal Senior School Certificate Examinations beginning in 2027.

According to the memo, the fee review was initiated following a request by the West African Examinations Council for an upward review of examination charges, citing the need to sustain the conduct of the examinations.

The new fee regime is expected to have significant implications for parents and guardians, particularly in states where governments do not fully sponsor examination registration for public school candidates.

While some state governments, including Lagos, currently pay WAEC registration fees for eligible public school students, many parents across the country bear the cost of registering their children for NECO examinations. The increase is therefore expected to raise concerns over the affordability of senior secondary school examinations for many families.

The revised fee will take effect from the 2027 examination year, while candidates sitting the 2026 examinations will continue to pay the existing registration charges.