It’s official — WAEC and NECO are going digital. According to Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, Computer-Based Testing (CBT) will become the new normal for the country’s major secondary school exams starting in 2026. Objective papers will begin CBT rollout as early as November 2025, with full essay and multiple-choice CBT adoption expected by May/June 2026.
For some, this sounds ambitious. But this is long overdue for anyone who’s watched Nigerian education struggle under the weight of exam malpractice, logistics chaos, and outdated testing models.
JAMB Has Already Proven It Works
Let’s not forget — JAMB made this move years ago. In 2025 alone, it’s running UTME exams for over 2 million candidates in 800+ centres nationwide. Despite glitches and occasional disruptions, CBT has proven to be faster, more secure, easier to manage, and far more scalable. So the question isn’t whether WAEC and NECO can do it. The question is: Why didn’t they do it sooner?
The Benefits Are Too Big to Ignore
Here’s what going CBT means for Nigerian education:
- Fewer Cases of Exam Malpractice: Hidden phones and impersonators still plague paper-based tests. CBT makes it harder to cheat and easier to track suspicious activity.
- Faster Results and Transparency: Results can be processed quicker, reducing anxiety for students and boosting efficiency.
- Cost Savings Over Time: No more shipping truckloads of papers across the country or dealing with lost scripts and missing sheets.
- Global Alignment: Digital testing is standard in developed countries. Nigeria aligning with that standard boosts credibility and global competitiveness.
Let’s also talk logistics. CBT may sound like a headache, but it can unlock job opportunities in tech, support services, and infrastructure. A full digital testing ecosystem isn’t just about exams — it’s about building a national digital backbone.
What Could Go Wrong? Plenty, If We’re Not Prepared
Still, we can’t pretend this will be smooth. Nigeria faces infrastructure gaps:
- Unreliable electricity
- Poor internet access in rural areas
- Limited access to computers in public schools
For this to succeed, the government must invest in digital literacy, expand CBT centres, and implement clear policies regarding exam technology. Otherwise, we’ll simply trade one broken system for another.
The Bottom Line
CBT is the future — and Nigeria is finally catching up. WAEC and NECO moving in this direction is the right step. But they’ll need more than laptops and good intentions to succeed.
If they get this right, they won’t just modernise testing — they’ll change the way we think about education in this country.
