FG Introduces New Operational Guidelines for WAEC, NECO Students’ Assessment Records

The Federal Government has introduced new uniform national Continuous Assessment (CA) guidelines requiring examination bodies, including the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), to establish secure and interoperable CA portals linked to the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI).

The new policy, which applies to public and government-approved private secondary schools nationwide, requires all students to have National Learner Identity Numbers (NLIN) linked to their National Identification Numbers (NIN).

The guidelines also introduce mandatory deadlines for schools to submit students’ Continuous Assessment records, with penalties for institutions that fail to comply.

Under the new system, schools will no longer be allowed to upload CA records whenever they choose, as the portals will open and close within specific national submission windows.

Beginning from the 2026/2027 academic session, schools are expected to upload first-term CA records in January, second-term records in April and third-term records in August.

The Federal Government said the new structure is aimed at improving the integrity of students’ academic records and preventing the manipulation or retrospective alteration of CA scores before final examinations.

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The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, recently reiterated the government’s commitment to transforming the Nigerian education system and making it more competitive globally while engaging state commissioners for education, private school owners, administrators and other education stakeholders.

The new guidelines require all licensed schools and national examination bodies to comply with the policy, with severe sanctions provided for institutions that violate the directives.

Possible sanctions include suspension and blacklisting. A school may be suspended over examination malpractice, failure to comply with registration directives, misrepresentation of learners or fraudulent submission of Continuous Assessment records.

The guidelines also provide new procedures for students who transfer from one school to another.

Under the system, transfers must be formally initiated and processed through the CA portal. The school a student is leaving will submit a transfer request, while the receiving institution will be required to either accept or reject the request.

Once approved, the system will automatically update the student’s records and transfer their previous CA data to the new school.

This means that Continuous Assessment records will belong to the learner rather than the individual school. Consequently, schools will not be permitted to independently delete or alter a student’s previous CA records.

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The policy also outlines measures for students whose schools are suspended.

When a school is suspended, its CA portal will immediately be blocked, while affected students will be automatically classified as “orphaned” within the system.

The relevant examination body will also be required to notify the Ministry of Education in the affected state within two days of the school’s suspension.

Affected students will subsequently be transferred to nearby accredited schools or approved temporary examination centres established by the examination body. Their existing CA records will remain intact throughout the process.

The development is expected to address longstanding challenges associated with the use and management of school-based Continuous Assessment records in senior secondary education.

Before the introduction of the new framework, there have been concerns over the effective integration of students’ CA records from SS1 through SS3 into the final grading process of external examinations conducted by bodies such as WAEC and NECO.

The new framework is therefore expected to create a centralised and traceable system through which students’ CA records can be captured, preserved and accessed when required for final assessment.

The Federal Ministry of Education will monitor implementation through its Basic and Senior Secondary Departments, with the authority to provide oversight and intervene where necessary.

The guidelines are not necessarily permanent, as the government stated that they may be reviewed after one year of implementation where necessary.

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