The Federal Government has directed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) to adopt full Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for all their examinations by 2026.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this while monitoring the ongoing exams alongside officials from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Bwari on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that more than two million candidates registered for the ongoing examination in over 800 centres across the country.
Alausa revealed that both WAEC and NECO would begin administering their objective papers via CBT starting this November.
According to him, the full adoption of CBT for both essay and objective components would commence in May or June 2026.
“If JAMB can successfully conduct CBT exams for more than 2.2 million candidates, WAEC and NECO can do the same.
“We are going to ensure that WAEC and NECO also start conducting their objective exams via CBT.
“By the 2026 examinations, scheduled for May/June, both the objective and essay components will be fully CBT-based. That is how we can eliminate exam malpractices.”
Alausa further disclosed that a committee is currently reviewing examination standards nationwide, with recommendations expected next month.
Earlier, JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, while addressing concerns about the early scheduling of the exams, clarified that the board’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has always commenced at 8:00 a.m.
Oloyede explained that candidates were only required to arrive at 6:30 a.m. to facilitate accreditation before the examinations.
He dismissed complaints about early arrival times, noting that this measure was necessary for screening candidates before the exams commenced.
“We have always started our exams at 8 o’clock. The first session is at 8 o’clock, the second session at 10:30, the third session at 1 p.m., and the fourth session at 3:30 p.m.
Oloyede also refuted claims that candidates had been assigned to centres they did not select, stating that investigations had revealed no such cases.
He confirmed that more than 1.6 million out of 2.03 million registered candidates had completed their exams, with approximately 50,000 remaining.
The registrar further disclosed that more than 40 candidates had been arrested for malpractice, including impersonation and attempting to smuggle exam questions out using hidden cameras.
He added that among the registered candidates, more than 41,000 were underage.
NAN
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