The Federal Government has instructed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) to fully implement Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for all their exams by 2026.
Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, made this announcement during his inspection of the ongoing exams in Bwari, alongside officials from JAMB, on Monday.According to the News Agency of Nigeria, over 2 million candidates have registered for the current examination, being conducted in more than 800 centres nationwide.
Alausa confirmed that WAEC and NECO would begin administering their objective papers via CBT starting this November. He further revealed that by May or June 2026, both objective and essay components would be fully transitioned to CBT.
He noted, “If JAMB can successfully conduct CBT exams for over 2.2 million candidates, WAEC and NECO can do the same. We are working to ensure that WAEC and NECO start their objective exams on CBT. By 2026, both objective and essay exams will be fully on CBT, which will help eliminate exam malpractices.”
Additionally, Alausa shared that a committee is currently reviewing examination standards nationwide, with recommendations expected next month. Meanwhile, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, addressed concerns about the early start time for exams, explaining that the UTME exams have always begun at 8:00 a.m., with candidates required to arrive by 6:30 a.m. for accreditation.
Oloyede clarified that there were no issues with candidates being assigned to centers they did not select, and investigations had confirmed no such cases. He also stated that over 1.6 million of the 2.03 million registered candidates had completed their exams, with approximately 50,000 candidates still to sit for their exams.
In addition, over 40 candidates were arrested for malpractice, including impersonation and attempting to smuggle out exam questions using hidden cameras. He also revealed that more than 41,000 candidates were underage.
Source : https://punchng.com/
