The Federal Ministry of Education has approved a fresh hike in registration fees for the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, SSCE, raising the amount candidates pay to N50,000, effective 2027.
The new rate applies uniformly to both the National Examinations Council, NECO, and the West African Examinations Council, WAEC.
The decision has angered the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who called it another blow to parents already struggling financially.
NECO’s SSCE internal fee rises from N30,000 to N50,000, while WAEC’s climbs from N27,000 to the same figure. WAEC wrapped up this year’s exams weeks ago; NECO’s is still ongoing.
A memo dated June 18, 2026, and signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Adeniji Ibrahim, on behalf of the Education Minister, confirmed the approval. It was addressed to the NECO Registrar and cited a March 31 meeting where the minister had directed both exam bodies to harmonise their fees.
The memo read in part: “I am directed to convey the Minister of Education’s approval of the sum of Fifty Thousand Naira (N50,000) only, as the new examination fee for candidates with effect from NECO SSCE internal 2027.”
The hike could deepen debts owed to the exam bodies by state governments that cover candidates’ fees, and raises fears that many students in states without such subsidies may be unable to register. In Lagos, for instance, the state pays WAEC fees while parents who can afford it cover NECO.
NAPTAN: Increase too steep
NAPTAN’s Chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the increase should have been more gradual.
“The increase is too high for our liking and acceptance… what they are asking for now is surely over 75 per cent. That is on the high side,” he said, arguing a 25 per cent rise would have been more reasonable given parents’ other financial burdens.
He appealed to the authorities to reconsider, warning that students could be locked out of their final exams over cost.
NUT: Leave it to parents
NUT President, Audu Titus Amba, said the union’s focus remained on teachers’ welfare, leaving the fee decision to parents. He promised to address the matter further at a press conference on Monday.
Atiku: Reverse the hike or risk more out-of-school children
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, described the fee hike — alongside a recent increase in Federal Unity Colleges fees — as cruel and economically insensitive.
In a statement by his aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said it was unconscionable for the Tinubu administration to raise education costs while Nigerians grapple with inflation, high food prices, transport costs, electricity tariffs and unemployment.
He noted Nigeria already has between 10.5 million and 15 million out-of-school children, and warned the new fees would worsen the crisis rather than address it.
Atiku also faulted the government’s emphasis on the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, saying loans mean little to children priced out of secondary school before they can even reach university.
“No nation has ever taxed its way into educational excellence… human capital is the engine of sustainable development,” he said, urging Tinubu to reverse both fee increases and convene a stakeholders’ dialogue on education financing.
He pledged that an ADC government would reverse such policies and expand access to education at every level.
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