Despite the inherent downsides of adopting the full computer-based test (CBT), examination bodies appear determined to embrace it.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa had in April directed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) to adopt full CBT for all their examinations by 2026.

The minister said the need to adopt the system was to combat examination malpractice and to ensure a fairer, more secure and efficient examinations.

In the face of the directive, Nigerian examination bodies such as WAEC and NECO are transitioning to CBT despite significant concomitant challenges and concerns raised by stakeholders.

Stakeholders argue that while CBT offers potential benefits such as reducing malpractice and streamlining processes, its implementation is being rushed without adequate infrastructure, digital literacy, and access for all candidates.

Recently, the national lawmakers investigating the West African Examination Council (WAEC) over prevalent irregularities and operational failures that characterised the 2025 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination instructed the Council not to adopt CBT examination mode in 2026.

The lawmakers insist Nigeria lacks the capacity to adopt CBT examination mode for secondary school students in 2026.

Similarly, Gift Osikoya, a teacher, believes that the plan to conduct WAEC and NECO examinations through CBT by 2026 is a good move to curb examination malpractice, especially in an age increasingly driven by technology.

However, she said the practicality and inclusiveness of the policy must be carefully examined.

“Many schools, particularly in rural areas, lack basic facilities like reliable electricity and internet access, not to mention a sufficient number of computers.

“Rolling out CBT without bridging this infrastructural gap could widen educational inequality, depriving students in underserved areas,” she said.

Osikoya emphasised that though CBT can indeed reduce some forms of malpractice by eliminating physical answer sheets and reducing human interference; it also introduces new risks such as hacking, impersonation, or technical manipulation if cybersecurity is not prioritised.

Joseph Fehintola, a scholar from the University of Ibadan, in a study, ‘Assessment of Challenges of CBT among Students in Nigerian Educational System’, revealed that many candidates do not have adequate skills in ICT since there are no electricity supply to many hamlets, villages and towns where majorities of these places are not connected to the electricity grid.

“Many secondary school leavers in the country are not computer literate due to the fact that there is no electricity to power computers, not to talk of learning how to use computers.

“Even many teachers in the primary and secondary schools cannot boot a computer without talking of using any application. The teachers that cannot use computers, how would that person teach computers,” Fehintola stated.

The question now is, the teachers that cannot use computers, how would that person teach computers, and definitely the students cannot be adequately equipped for CBT.

Epileptic power supply presents a major hurdle for CBT examination mode in Nigeria, hindering the smooth operation of the exercise, and impacting student performance.

The erratic power outages common in the country’s ecosystem can disrupt examinations, cause data loss, and reduce student confidence in the technology.

Nubi Achebo, director of academic planning at Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM) expressed worries that the government may be rushing into this decision without adequate preparation, which may lead to failure.

“The move to CBT has potential benefits, addressing the existing infrastructure and accessibility challenges is crucial for a successful implementation,” he said.

As a matter of fact, Achebo insists CBT would not eliminate examination malpractice, as students can still find ways to cheat using technology.

He encouraged the government to prioritise equipping public schools with necessary ICT tools and stable power supply, and organise large-scale digital literacy campaigns for both students and teachers.

Besides, he said the government should consider a hybrid model of examination, where a mix of CBT and paper-based tests are involved during the transition period to avoid excluding students without access.

Going by the lawmakers’ disposition, it is necessary that the following examination bodies should take everything into perspective before embracing CBT mode of examination to ascertain that the country has the capacity.

Possibly, WAEC and NECO should advocate for a national summit on education so that stakeholders will be sure if the examination bodies are ready for the CBT examination model, as there are schools in the entire local government areas of a Nigerian state without CBT facilities.

Studies have shown that a significant portion of Nigerian secondary schools, particularly public schools, do not have computer facilities readily available for classroom use.

Nigeria has about 23,550 secondary schools, which form part of a formal six-year secondary education system, divided into junior and senior secondary levels.

The use of computers in Nigerian secondary schools is not widespread, and access varies significantly between public and private schools, as well as between rural and urban areas.

According to the Universal Basic Education Commission, 50 percent of Nigeria’s public schools lack digital facilities, with only 36 percent of the population using the internet and 78 percent of youngsters lacking digital literacy skills.

This needs to be addressed before embracing CBT as a mode of examination in the country to avoid jeopardising the future of the youngsters in the name of curbing examination malpractice.

According to Amos Dangut, head, Nigeria National Office of WAEC, the CBT exam will involve about 1,973,253 students from 23,554 schools nationwide.

He disclosed that about 979,228 candidates would be males (49.63 percent) while 994,025 are females (50.37 percent), indicating a continuing rise in female participation.

According to him, the CBT examination will feature 74 subjects and 196 papers, with over 26,000 senior secondary school teachers engaged as supervisors nationwide.

“I don’t know how WAEC wants to do it because I know there is written paper. Will the students use computers to write the theory or will the theory be cancelled and it will be only a multi-choice objective?

“WAEC needs to be clear on this. If CBT is the way then WAEC can start but with much campaign on schools and students so that the shift won’t be alien to those who will write the exam,” Chukwudinma Okoji, a communication expert told BusinessDay.

According to him, no system is perfect, hence the need to give the examination bodies some level of trust in building a strong institution as a feeder base for the country’s tertiary institutions.

“Glitch happens in the US and other developed countries and they are rectified. Jamb too rectified the issue so there is no need to crucify them,” Okoji said.

Charles Adewale, lecturer, department of communication, Caleb University, Lagos, said JAMB was not hasty in adopting nationwide CBT examination.

“However, I blame JAMB for not reacting swiftly when complaints greeted the release of results,” he said.

According to him, CBT should be encouraged and promoted by all stakeholders in the Nigerian education sector.

He also believes CBT will get better with time. “It’s innovative, and we should not allow these teething setbacks to deny us the inherent benefits,” Adewale said.

2025 mock UTME glitch as pointer

If the 2025 mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) held by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on April 10, was to be a prophet , it would have rightly foretold the outcome of the CBT examination.

This was so because the mock UTME was marred by protracted delays and logistic lapses, which many analysts believed JAMB had enough time to address.

However, the glitches witnessed during the 2025 mock UTME were not swiftly addressed by JAMB, which was a pointer to what candidates experienced during the CBT exams.

Annually, JAMB conducts mock UTME to test new systems and allow prospective candidates familiarise with the CBT format ahead of the main UTME.

Initially, 200,115 candidates registered for the mock exercise. However, two candidates later withdrew, reducing the number to 200,113.

About 73,844 candidates were absent on the day of the mock UTME, while 88 candidates were unable to undergo successful biometric verification.

In total, 126,181 candidates successfully sat for the mock UTME, with about 115,735 candidates able to access their results thereafter, and have now been made available.

About 10,446 results were processed and released on a later date by JAMB, which also raised some questions about the motive behind the delay.

Fabian Benjamin, JAMB spokesperson, in a statement acknowledged that some candidates experienced delays during the examination.

He also acknowledged that such challenges were anticipated due to the implementation of new features designed to improve the overall conduct of the main UTME.

According to him, the mock examination serves as a crucial trial run for the UTME, enabling JAMB to test innovations and provide candidates with valuable experience of the CBT environment.

However, the resulting effect of the 2025 UTMB indicates that JAMB fails to learn from its own mock UTME conducted to test both the candidates and institutional preparedness of JAMB.

Cost Implications

Another worrisome twist to the CBT route is the revenue generation equation of the examination bodies in Nigeria.

These examination bodies are non profit; however the cost of the exam is getting higher each year. Indicating the increasing inflationary pressure on non-profit institutions in Nigeria.

The increasing cost has also raised the moral burden on the examination bodies; and the question in many quarters is, should JAMB, WAEC and NECO really focus on raising revenue at a time when most parents are struggling to feed?

“I am at a dilemma on if it should generate revenue but I think they are non governmental organisations that couldn’t make revenue.

“So, I believe all these years, they still make revenue from sales of forms. But the government should subsidise the price of the form so it would be affordable for students,” Okoji said.

For instance, in 2019/2020, N3,500 was approved by the government for registration. However, it was at a subsidized rate.

Emmanuel Ndukwe, chairman of JAMB governing board, disclosed then that the reduction followed recommendations made by management and board to the government because it was becoming difficult for some parents to raise the N5,000 charged by JAMB then.

However, that cost has seen a steady increase in subsequent years, mostly due to inflation.

In 2024, JAMB charged candidates about N8000, while foreign candidates were charged $30.

“Registration fee for the 2024 UTME: N7,700 (with Mock); N6,200 (without Mock).”

But, in 2025 the fee was increased to about N9000 according to JAMB’s official communication channel.

“Cost implication for the 2025 UTME/DE Registration is as stated below: 1. UTME with Mock-N8,700, 2. UTME without Mock-N7, 200, 3. Mock Trial Testing for Future Candidates-N3,500, 4. DE-N5, 700,” JAMB posted on its official X handle.

CBT centres as backbone

Every year, candidates seeking admissions into Nigerian tertiary institutions sit the UTME which serves as an entrance examination for prospective candidates.

About two million candidates participated in the 2025 UTME. The examination body also made use of 887 CBT centres across the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country for the 2025 UTME.

The Implication of this is that over 2000 candidates were expected in each of the approved CBT centres across the country.

This also raised the issue of capacity of the centres and the logistics bottlenecks that greeted the conduct of the 2025 UTME.

Stakeholders position

Many stakeholders have questioned the announcement of WAEC to go the full CBT route in 2026, following the recent experience with JAMB.

For instance, the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) accused JAMB of posting candidates for the UTME to distant centres, condemning the practice as unfair.

“First and foremost, we have to make the point that the officials of JAMB need to understand that they are working with an examination body dealing with young adults,” Ogunjimi Isaac, ERC’s deputy national coordinator said in a statement.

Johnson Ibidapo, social psychologist and development consultant, Caleb University, Lagos, told BusinessDay that the fallout of the last UTME could trigger intense feelings of shame, anxiety, or hopelessness, among candidates that did not meet the required benchmark score.

“Encouraging realistic self-appraisal, emotional regulation, and open discussions about failure can help youth build the resilience necessary for long-term personal and professional success,” he said.

According to him, the most impacted group may need to see Psychologists for mental health support, and that parents need to help raise resilient children.

According to him, over-indulgence is a problem leading to lack of resilience against challenges among Nigerian students.

He also believes that parents of today shielded their children from hardship; hence many young people are not taught resilience or how to manage setbacks.

“Lack of psychological preparedness arises from overprotection, unrealistic expectations, and the Gen-Z mentality of expecting perfection,” Ibidapo said.

Haruna Danjuma, national president, Parents-Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) described the 2026 target for a full transition to CBT in both WAEC and NECO as unrealistic and impractical.

This follows Tunji Alausa, the minister of education’s directive that both WAEC and NECO fully transition to CBT by May/June 2026.

“As a parent I found it unacceptable that those in government are usually not sensitive to the reality of our collective realities,” a concerned parent told BusinessDay.

According to him, the current glitches with JAMB has been a long standing issue that the examination body has failed to address.

“I wrote JAMB in 2000, and about 18000 results were said to be unscannable by JAMB that year. Subsequent years have also seen candidates miss admission over technical glitches; yet the examination body carries on each year without addressing the challenges,” he said. (BusinessDay)