The Nigerian Government has announced a comprehensive set of measures to promote fairness and integrity in the 2026 examinations and beyond, conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
The move is part of ongoing reforms to strengthen credibility, transparency and public confidence in Nigeria’s assessment system.
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa, alongside the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmed, said in a statement issued by the Director of Press of the ministry, Boriowo Folashade, that the Federal Ministry of Education was deploying targeted strategies to safeguard the integrity of national examinations.
’“Among the key measures is the introduction of enhanced question randomisation and serialisation mechanisms. While all candidates will answer the same examination questions, the sequencing and arrangement will differ for each candidate, ensuring that every student writes a unique version of the examination and significantly reducing opportunities for collusion,” the Ministers said.
They also reaffirmed strict commitment to the policy prohibiting the transfer of candidates at the Senior Secondary School Three (SS3) level.
According to them, this directive, already communicated through an official circular, will be rigorously enforced to prevent last-minute school changes often associated with examination malpractice.
New National Continuous Assessment Guidelines
They said that, to further ensure transparency, new national Continuous Assessment guidelines have been developed for immediate implementation.
“All examination bodies (WAEC, NECO, NBAIS etc) must strictly follow the standardized submission deadlines for each academic period: Submission Windows are; First Term CA: January, Second Term CA: April and Third Term CA: August.
“These timelines are mandatory and designed to ensure consistency, data integrity, and prompt processing of Continuous Assessment records across the country,” they said.
Dr Alausa and Professor Suwaiba said, in addition, that the Federal Ministry of Education is introducing a unique Examination Learners’ Identity Number for all candidates.
This identifier, they said, would enable effective tracking of learners throughout the examination process, strengthen monitoring and accountability, and support long-term reforms in assessment, certification, and data management.’
The Ministers further assured stakeholders that examination administration would be conducted under strengthened supervision and coordination with relevant examination bodies to ensure strict compliance with established guidelines and ethical standards.
They emphasised that these measures reflect the Federal Government’s resolve to conduct examinations that are credible, fair and reflective of global best practices, while addressing Nigeria’s unique educational realities.
The Federal Ministry of Education reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with all examination bodies, state governments, school administrators, parents and candidates to ensure the successful implementation of these strategies and the smooth conduct of the 2026 examinations nationwide.