The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withdrawn the recognition of 574 secondary schools across Nigeria over their involvement in examination malpractices.
This was disclosed by the Head of WAEC’s National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, during a press briefing held at the council’s headquarters in Lagos on Thursday.
Dr. Dangut stated that the names of the affected schools have been submitted to the Federal Government through the Ministry of Education for appropriate sanctions. The affected schools will no longer serve as approved examination centres for the council’s exams.
“This year, we have shared with the Ministry of Education a total of 574 schools whose recognition has been withdrawn. This sanction will be adopted across all examination bodies,” he said. “These schools are no longer recognised by WAEC, and we will not conduct exams in those centres.”
The announcement comes ahead of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), which is scheduled to hold from Thursday, April 24, to Friday, June 20, 2025.
According to Dr. Dangut, a total of 1,973,253 candidates from 23,554 schools have registered for this year’s examination—an increase of 158,627 candidates compared to 2024. Of the total number, 979,228 are male, while 994,025 are female.
He also revealed that WAEC is intensifying its use of technology to curb cheating, with plans underway to introduce the first-ever Computer-Based WASSCE (CB-WASSCE) for school candidates.
“No two candidates will be given the same set of questions,” he added, emphasizing WAEC’s commitment to integrity and innovation in the conduct of its examinations.
