Senate interacts with top education stakeholders on proposed changes in WAEC Syllabus, Migration to Computer-based Examination

By Emma Nwokonna On Dec 18, 2025

Senate interacts with top education stakeholders on proposed changes in WAEC Syllabus, Migration to Computer-based Examination

ABUJA – The Senate on Tuesday, engaged the Federal Ministry of Education on the recently introduced changes in the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) syllabus and the planned migration of the examination body to a Computer-Based Examination (CBE) format.

The engagement took place at an interactive session between the Senate Committee on Education (Basic & Secondary) and the Ministry, at the National Assembly – where lawmakers sought clarifications on the scope, implementation process and readiness of stakeholders for the new syllabus and the digital examination model.

Senator Ekong Sampson, representing Akwa Ibom South, and Vice Chairman of the Committee on Education (Basic & Secondary), presided at the session. He stood in for the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Lawal Usman (Kaduna Central), who is currently out of the country.

Yesterday’s interface followed a resolution of the Senate on a motion of urgent public importance moved by Senator Karimi Sunday Steve (Kogi West), on the ‘Need for the Federal Ministry of Education and the West African Examinations Council to review their policy and implementation date on a guideline for the change in the curriculum of Secondary Schools to allow students adequate preparation before examination’, last week.

During the interactions, Senators expressed concern over the preparedness of public schools, especially in rural and underserved communities, to effectively adopt the computer-based format, noting challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, limited access to computers, unstable electricity supply and gaps in digital literacy among students and teachers.

Senator Ekong Sampson in his remarks, observed that the engagement was ‘rooted in the need to ensure that education policy reforms are fair, well-timed, and do not place undue academic or psychological burden on Nigerian students, especially those already at the terminal stage of their secondary education’.

Senator Sampson, a famed promoter of education – who even as a serving Lawmaker, teaches in secondary schools to mark his birthday, reiterated Senate’s strong support for education initiatives, but noted that the Upper Chamber also has a duty to protect the interest of Nigerian students and parents. He called for deepened collaboration, careful planning and consultation to streamline the reforms.

Earlier in a joint position presentation, the Ministry of Education, represented by the Executive Secretary, Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Prof. Salihu Shehu, highlighted that the reforms were ‘targeted to turnaround the educational landscape and fast track the achievement of the ministerial initiative towards empowering learners with critical skills for successful economic and social life in the 21st century’.

Prof. Shehu stated that the changes in the curriculum which would involve upgrade in the module of some of the subjects and the introduction of new ones were expected to be phased in, gradually. He disclosed that examination under the revised curricula is expected to take place from the 2027/2028 academic session.

The session also discussed concerns over inadequate infrastructure and manpower for the mooted digital examination transition and called for further engagements and assessment to ensure that the integrity of examinations were maintained, and that no students were disenfranchised in the process.

Senators present at the meeting were Senators Sunday Karimi Steve (Kogi West), Benson Friday (Bayelsa Central), Aniekan Bassey (Akwa Ibom North East) Allwell Onyesoh (Rivers East), Ikra Bilbis (Zamfara South), Victor Umoh (Anambra North), Mustapha Khalid (Kaduna North), among others.

Among the top brass of the ministry were the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, represented by the Executive Secretary, Nigeria Education Research and Development Council (NERDC), Prof. Salihu Shehu, Head of National Office, WAEC, Dr. Amos Dangut, the Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission, Aisha Garba, represented by Deputy Secretary, Dr. Razak Olatoye, among others.