AWC MDA Desk
The Federal Government has announced sweeping reforms aimed at eliminating examination malpractice in the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations, in a decisive move to restore credibility and public confidence in Nigeria’s education system.
The new measures, unveiled by the Federal Ministry of Education, introduce a technology-driven and accountability-focused framework designed to close long-standing loopholes that have enabled cheating and systemic abuse during senior secondary examinations.
Central to the reforms is enhanced question randomisation and serialisation, ensuring that every candidate receives a unique examination paper, a move expected to drastically reduce collusion, leakage and impersonation. The government also imposed a strict ban on the transfer of SS3 candidates, a practice often linked to examination racketeering and identity manipulation.
In a bid to strengthen continuous assessment integrity, the Ministry approved a new national Continuous Assessment (CA) guideline, with mandatory submission windows in January, April and August. These timelines are intended to ensure uniformity, transparency and real-time monitoring of students’ academic progression before final examinations.
Another major innovation is the introduction of the Examination Learners’ Identity Number (ELIN), a unique identification code to be assigned to every examination candidate nationwide. ELIN will enable effective candidate tracking, enhance monitoring and accountability, and support long-term reforms in assessment, certification and education data management.
The Ministry stressed that supervision would be significantly strengthened through closer coordination with WAEC, NECO and other examination bodies, alongside tighter oversight at schools and examination centres. It added that the reforms align with global best practices in assessment and certification.
The Federal Government called on schools, parents and candidates to cooperate fully with the new framework, noting that collective responsibility is critical to achieving a transparent, fair and credible examination process.
With the 2026 examination cycle set to usher in these reforms, education stakeholders say the measures signal a firm resolve by the government to protect merit, reward hard work and restore integrity to Nigeria’s public examinations system.
