Show Your Workings: Why the Nigerian Government Needs to be Transparent About the Proposed WAEC and NECO Fee Hikes
If you are a Nigerian parent, you probably have a calculator permanently glued to your hand these days. You are constantly subtracting the cost of fuel from your salary, dividing what is left by the price of a bag of rice, and wondering how on earth you are going to multiply your income to cover the ever increasing cost of school fees. Just when we thought we had seen the worst of the inflation, a fresh bombshell dropped from the Federal Ministry of Education in June 2026.
The Ministry released a circular proposing that registration fees for both the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) should be increased to a flat rate of N50,000. To put that in perspective, WAEC currently costs N27,000 and NECO costs N30,000. We are looking at an 82 percent jump for WAEC and a 67 percent increase for NECO.
Predictably, the public outcry was immediate and fierce. Parents, educators, and activists hit the roof. In response, the Ministry suspended the hike on July 13, 2026, saying they needed to consult with more stakeholders. On the surface, this looks like a win for the people. But according to the Read To Live Initiative, an independent higher education policy think tank, we should not start celebrating just yet.
The Executive Director of the group, Jacob Sule, has come out with a very practical and powerful argument. He is saying that simply "suspending" the hike is not enough. He is demanding that before the government even thinks about bringing this proposal back to the table, they must show us the data. They must show us their "workings."
The Logic of the "Evidence Hunt"
Think back to your days in secondary school mathematics. Your teacher always told you that even if you got the final answer right, you would lose marks if you did not show the steps you took to get there. Jacob Sule is applying that same logic to the Federal Ministry of Education.
He is asking a very simple but uncomfortable question: If the N50,000 fee was based on real operational costs, why was that evidence not published along with the announcement in June? Why did the government wait for people to get angry before mentioning "stakeholder consultations"?
Sule argues that a fee increase affecting over 2.2 million students is not just a small administrative tweak. It is a massive policy decision that changes the lives of millions of families. In a transparent democracy, you do not announce a price hike and then go on an "evidence hunt" only after the public starts protesting. You provide the justification upfront. By failing to do this, the Ministry has created a cloud of suspicion. Are these fees really about the cost of paper and examiners, or is it just another way to squeeze money out of an already exhausted population?
The Staggering Reality of the 258 Percent Increase
When you look at the history of these fees, the picture becomes even more alarming. According to the analysis provided by the Read To Live Initiative, WAEC fees have been climbing steadily for years. In 2019, it cost just N13,950 to register. By 2025, that number had doubled to N27,000.
If this new N50,000 fee is eventually approved, it would mean that the cost of writing WAEC has increased by a staggering 258 percent since 2019. Has the average Nigerian salary increased by 258 percent in that same period? We all know the answer to that. We are living in a country where the economy is moving in one direction and the cost of basic services is sprinting in the opposite direction.
Education and the Poverty Index
We cannot talk about examination fees without talking about the reality of poverty in Nigeria. According to the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, about 63 percent of Nigerians are classified as poor in more ways than one. This means they are not just lacking cash; they are lacking access to healthcare, clean water, and stable housing.
For a family living on the edge, N50,000 is not just a registration fee. It is two months' worth of food. It is the rent for a small room. It is the difference between a child becoming a university graduate or a school dropout who ends up on the streets. When institutions like WAEC and NECO collect billions of naira every year from Nigerian families, the very least they can do is prove that they are being efficient with that money. Jacob Sule pointed out that these institutions have never been required to show their audited financial statements to the public. They collect the money, they conduct the exams, and they keep the "financial workings" secret. This lack of transparency is a pattern that has crossed different administrations, and it is time for it to stop.
What Transparency Should Look Like
The Read To Live Initiative is not just complaining; they are providing a clear roadmap for what the government needs to do next. They have called on the Ministry of Education, WAEC, NECO, and the National Assembly to take four specific steps before any new fee is introduced.
First, they want the full cost analysis behind the June 18 circular to be made public. We need to see exactly how much it costs to print one exam booklet, pay one invigilator, and process one result.
Second, they are demanding that WAEC and NECO release their most recent audited financial statements. If these organizations are making a profit, the public deserves to know. If they are running at a loss, we need to see where the leakages are.
Third, they want the National Assembly to officially summon the leaders of these organizations to present their evidence in a public hearing. This should not be a secret meeting in a hotel room. It should be a transparent process where the representatives of the people can ask the hard questions.
Finally, they are calling for a "Social Impact Analysis." We need a breakdown of how a N50,000 fee would affect low income households. How many students would be forced to stay at home? How many would be pushed into child labor just to save up for an exam? You cannot make a policy that affects millions of poor people without studying how it will hurt them.
The Human Cost of Education
At the end of the day, this is about more than just numbers on a balance sheet. It is about the dreams of young Nigerians. Every year, over two million students sit for these exams with the hope of a better future. For many of them, these exams are the only "exit door" out of poverty.
If we make that door too expensive to open, we are essentially telling 63 percent of our population that higher education is a luxury they cannot afford. We are telling the daughter of a petty trader and the son of a vulcanizer that their brains do not matter as much as their bank accounts.
The Ministry of Education needs to realize that they are not just managing a department; they are managing the destiny of a nation. If they truly believe that N50,000 is a fair price, they should have no problem showing us the data. Sunlight is the best disinfectant for corruption and inefficiency. It is time to open the books, show the workings, and let the Nigerian people decide if they are getting a fair deal. Until that happens, any talk of "consultation" is just an exercise in public relations. We don't want a "restoration of the appearance of due process." We want the real thing.