By Ngozi Nwankwo
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the National Examinations Council,NECO, Computer-Based Test,CBT,for the Senior School Certificate Examination,SSCE, describing it as a major milestone in the fight against examination malpractice.
Speaking on Wednesday after monitoring the ongoing examination at Redeemers Teap School and Anglican Girls’ Grammar School in Abuja, Ahmad said reports from candidates at both centres showed that the exercise was seamless, with no technical glitches or delays.
She noted that many of the candidates preferred the CBT format to the traditional paper-based examination, adding that the randomisation of questions had made communication among candidates impossible.
“I spoke with many of the students, and most of them said they prefer the CBT examination. They also confirmed that they had not seen the examination questions before the test and that each candidate answered a different set of questions randomly.
“The CBT makes communication between candidates impossible and is one of the best ways of tackling examination malpractice,” she said.
The minister described the successful deployment of the CBT examination as a significant achievement for the education sector but stressed that the Federal Government would only implement a full transition after putting the necessary infrastructure in place across the country.
“We will not begin the full transition until we have everything in place because we do not want to put any student at a disadvantage.
“We are working with the National Assembly, state governors, private partners and other stakeholders to provide the facilities required for a seamless nationwide transition,” she said.
Ahmad added that the adoption of CBT would strengthen the integrity of public examinations and improve the quality of education by promoting merit.
Also speaking, NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, said the examination had been hitch-free since its commencement.
“They assured me that since the commencement of this year’s examination, they have not experienced any technical glitch. The examinations started on time, with no network challenges or other disruptions,” he said.
Wushishi disclosed that 1,378,048 candidates registered for the 2026 Senior School Certificate Examination, with female candidates slightly outnumbering their male counterparts.
He attributed the growing participation of girls to government policies promoting girl-child education.
The registrar added that NECO had established about 10 CBT centres in the Federal Capital Territory,FCT, and expressed confidence that the examination results would be released by the first week of September to support the 2026 admission process.
According to him, the CBT system’s question randomisation has significantly reduced opportunities for examination malpractice while enhancing the credibility of the examination process.
Some candidates also commended the new examination format.
A candidate at Redeemers Teap School, Ambassador Alabi, described the CBT experience as seamless and more convenient than the traditional paper-based examination.
Similarly, Isaac Abioro, a candidate at Anglican Girls’ Grammar School, said the CBT examination had been efficient and user-friendly, adding that no technical problems had been encountered during the exercise.
The Principal of Anglican Girls’ Grammar School, Mrs. Nkiruka Nwafor, said the transition to CBT would better prepare students for a technology-driven future.
She explained that the school had already introduced computer-based testing for some internal examinations to familiarise students with the system before sitting external examinations.
“The CBT experience is what we’ve all been waiting for. The future our girls are going into is dynamic and heavily ICT-driven.
“We introduced CBT for some of our internal examinations from the junior secondary level so that students gradually become familiar with the system. It’s long overdue, and we’re pleased that it is finally happening,” she said.
