WAEC, NECO CBT mandate by 2026 sparks fear, hope, and heated debate 

While the initiative is seen by some as a step towards digital advancement, critics argue that the country’s schools, particularly in rural areas, are nowhere near ready for the abrupt transition.

The plan, unveiled by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, outlines that all objective questions will be administered via CBT starting from November 2025.

By May/June 2026, both WAEC and NECO examinations, including essay and theory papers, will be conducted entirely on computer platforms.

According to the Minister, the goal is to curb examination malpractice and align Nigeria’s education assessment with international digital standards.

But the move has sparked widespread concern about feasibility, infrastructure gaps, digital literacy, and the general readiness of schools.

A senior lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Dr. Felix Echekoba, speaking to Naijaonpoint, described the decision as hasty and disconnected from Nigeria’s on-ground realities.

“We are in too much of a hurry. This is exactly how the 6-3-3-4 education system collapsed — no proper groundwork was done before rollout,” he said. 

He went further to link the policy to a broader decline in educational outcomes, citing the recent drop in Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) cut-off marks as evidence.

“Years ago, the JAMB cut-off mark was 200 and above. Today, we’re talking about 190 and in some cases even lower and yet, many students still struggle to meet it. That alone should tell you something about the state of our education. Now you want to switch to CBT across the board without fixing the foundation?” 

He expressed fears that the same fate awaits the CBT initiative if the government fails to lay a solid foundation before implementation.

Dr. Echekoba drew attention to the absence of basic infrastructure in many public schools. He questioned the viability of conducting computer-based exams when most schools don’t have access to steady electricity, internet access or functioning computer labs.

“Most public schools in Nigeria don’t have electricity, internet, let alone computers or trained ICT staff. CBT requires power, internet, and digital literacy. These are still luxuries in many schools, especially outside the urban centres,” he said. 

According to Dr. Echekoba, some private schools, in an attempt to prepare for the digital shift, have begun mandating parents to buy laptops for their children.

He criticized the government for placing responsibility on parents and schools without first building national infrastructure.

The principal of a government secondary school in Ebonyi State, Mr. Fidelis Okoro (Not real name), offered a more optimistic but cautious view in an interview with Naijaonpoint.

The principal of a government secondary school in Ebonyi State, Mr. Fidelis Okoro (Not real name), offered a more optimistic but cautious view in an interview with Naijaonpoint.

According to him, the implementation of CBT could be successful if limited to objective questions alone.

“Full implementation may not be possible. Subjects are voluminous. What would they do with practicals, diagrams, specimens, and other visual elements? Not all subjects can be adequately tested using only computer-based formats,” he noted. 

The principal noted that state governments could step in to provide schools with computers, but warned against placing the burden on parents.

“Some parents in rural areas don’t even own Android phones. How can they afford laptops or desktop systems for their children?” he asked. “Directing every parent to bring a computer system isn’t realistic,” he noted. 

Mr. Okoro pointed out that many secondary schools in Nigeria have fewer than 300 students, making a phased or school-based CBT setup potentially manageable.

He also noted that many public secondary schools have already employed computer teachers, so training capacity is not the primary problem. Instead, infrastructure and accessibility remain the bigger challenges.

Dr. Echekoba raised safety concerns about the risks involved in conducting CBT exams at centralized centres, especially as students are required to leave their homes as early as 4:00 or 5:00 a.m.

He referenced the recently concluded 2025 UTME, where candidates were expected to arrive at centres by 6:30 a.m., despite Nigeria’s growing insecurity challenges.

“You can’t ask children to leave their homes by 6:30 a.m. in today’s security climate just to sit for an exam,” Echekoba warned. 

He also recounted experiences from existing CBT centres used for UTME, the centres struggle with delays and technical issues during the exams.

On addressing security risks and logistical constraints, Mr. Okoro proposed a scalable solution, the government establish CBT centres in every local government area to reduce travel risks.

“If the government insists on using CBT centres, they must reduce travel risks by expanding access. Each local government area should have at least ten CBT centres, each equipped with over 500 computers. That way, multiple schools can conduct their exams simultaneously without overcrowding or long travel distances,” he noted. 

A Lagos state secondary school principal Mr. Sunday Akintunde (not real name), expressed his reservations about the implementation.

He noted that existing CBT centres, designed primarily for JAMB, lack the capacity to handle the volume of WAEC or NECO candidates.

“WAEC is not just for city schools. Students in rural schools, with no computers or power supply, also write this exam. CBT centres across Nigeria are simply not built to host such numbers at once,” he said. 

He explained that while JAMB’s model allows for staggered scheduling over several days, WAEC exams are written simultaneously nationwide.

“WAEC and NECO are compulsory achievement tests that every student in SS3 writes them. JAMB is different; not every student writes it, and it’s done in batches. So, you can’t compare the planning and coordination required to conduct the exams or scale,” Akintunde said. 

While the Ministry of Education sees CBT as a solution to widespread exam malpractice, both Echekoba and Akintunde disagree.

Mr. Akintunde warned that Computer-Based Testing (CBT) does not eliminate exam malpractice, noting that students can still cheat through browsers.

“CBT is not immune to cheating. Students can still access external help during exams. We’ve seen cases where they open browsers, switch tabs, or even use mobile phones during CBT sessions,” he said.  

He noted that stopping malpractice requires more than just changing the exam format. “Technology can help, yes, but without discipline, supervision, and accountability, cheating will persist.”

Dr. Echekoba went even further, warning that CBT could worsen malpractice.

“What happens now is that students contact ‘machinery’, individuals hired to write exams for them. With online systems, it may even become easier for these people to exploit loopholes. We’ve seen it happen,” he said. 

The experts called for a more tailored and inclusive implementation strategy, one that acknowledges the diversity of school sizes, digital readiness, and socio-economic realities across Nigeria.