N7.8bn Burden: Tinubu Urged to Halt N4,000 WAEC, NECO Verification Fee

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to intervene and stop the newly introduced N4,000 verification charge for candidates seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions with their O’Level results.

The call followed the decision by the West African Examinations Council and the National Examinations Council to introduce a one-off payment for result verification during the admission process.

Under the new arrangement, candidates whose admissions are coordinated by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board are required to verify their WAEC results once through JAMB, after which the outcome will be made available to the institutions where they seek admission. The examination bodies said the arrangement was designed to eliminate repeated verification payments and simplify the admission process.

However, the policy has triggered criticism over the additional financial burden it places on families already struggling with rising education and living costs.

The call for the reversal of the charge was contained in an editorial published on Wednesday, which described the fee as an unnecessary barrier to education and urged the Federal Government to intervene.

The editorial argued that with 1,959,668 candidates sitting for the May/June 2026 WASSCE, a N4,000 charge could translate to approximately N7.84 billion if applied across the entire cohort.

It questioned the rationale for requiring students to pay for the verification of results issued by examination bodies themselves, particularly at a time when millions of Nigerian households are battling rising food, transportation, healthcare and housing costs.

‘Education must not become more expensive’

The criticism comes against the backdrop of previous attempts to increase the cost of secondary school certificate examinations.

The editorial recalled the controversy that followed a proposal by WAEC and NECO to raise school certificate examination registration fees from N27,000 to N50,000, a move that was subsequently suspended.

It argued that introducing a separate verification charge could amount to another financial burden being imposed on students through the admission process.

The editorial further questioned why candidates should bear the cost of technology deployed by examination bodies to verify academic records.

It called for greater transparency over the actual cost of the verification technology and demanded justification for passing the expense directly to young Nigerians seeking admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

JAMB model cited

The editorial pointed to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board as an example of how improved management and financial discipline could reduce the burden on students.

It cited the former JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, under whose leadership the cost of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination was reduced while the board continued to record substantial operating surpluses and remittances to the Federal Government.

The editorial urged WAEC and NECO to adopt similar approaches rather than relying on additional charges imposed on candidates.

Poor families face growing pressure

It warned that every additional education-related levy could make it harder for economically disadvantaged children to remain in school or proceed to tertiary education.

The editorial noted that Parent-Teacher Associations and old students’ associations already provide financial support to keep some children in school, including assistance with school fees, examination costs and, in some cases, teachers’ salaries.

Against this background, it argued that government policy should focus on lowering barriers to education rather than introducing new charges.

The editorial therefore called on President Tinubu to stop the N4,000 verification fee and use the controversy to pursue a broader policy of making examination and admission processes more affordable.

It also advocated greater government support for WAEC and NECO examination costs, pointing to countries such as Ghana and Sierra Leone where governments provide significant assistance with school certificate examinations.

‘Education is a national investment’

The central argument is that education should be treated as a national investment rather than another avenue for revenue generation.

With Nigeria facing a persistent out-of-school crisis and widespread economic hardship, the editorial warned that additional charges could further push vulnerable students away from formal education.

It urged the Federal Government to ensure that the cost of verifying academic credentials does not become another financial barrier between Nigerian youths and tertiary education.

The N4,000 charge, introduced as a one-off payment intended to replace multiple verification payments, remains a contentious issue, with critics insisting that students should not be made to shoulder additional costs for verifying results issued by the examination authorities.