The Federal Government has expressed satisfaction with the ongoing 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), commending the smooth conduct of the exercise nationwide and the successful introduction of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) in selected examination centres.
The commendation was made by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, during an inspection tour of examination centres in Abuja on Tuesday.
The minister visited Government Secondary School, Garki, and Apo Boys Secondary School, where she monitored both CBT-enabled and traditional paper-and-pencil examinations.
Speaking after the assessment, Ahmad described the conduct of the examinations as credible, orderly and encouraging, noting that candidates demonstrated confidence and preparedness across both examination formats.
She said students at CBT centres navigated the digital platform with ease and reported seamless experiences without major technical challenges, while conventional centres also maintained a conducive and well-supervised examination environment.
The minister revealed that the Federal Government and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) conducted extensive pilot testing before introducing CBT for the 2026 examination cycle.
According to her, measures such as the deployment of alternative power sources, including solar systems and generators, were put in place to ensure uninterrupted examinations in participating centres.
Ahmad reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to a gradual and inclusive transition to digital examinations, stressing that the pace of implementation would be guided by the availability of infrastructure and readiness of schools across the country.
“The transition is being carefully managed to ensure fairness, inclusiveness and reliability. No candidate or region will be left behind as the reform progresses,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Head of National Office of WAEC in Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Dangut, disclosed that a total of 1,959,636 candidates from about 29,000 schools registered for the 2026 WASSCE, highlighting the scale of participation in this year’s examination.
The Federal Government maintained that the successful rollout of CBT in selected centres marks a significant milestone in efforts to modernise Nigeria’s examination system and strengthen the integrity of public assessments.
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