The Federal Government has introduced new standardised guidelines for continuous assessment, directing the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) to develop secure digital portals for recording students’ academic performance.
The portals, which will be linked to the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI), will be used by all public and government-approved private secondary schools nationwide.
Under the new framework, every student will be registered with a National Learner Identity Number (NLIN), which will be linked to the student’s National Identification Number (NIN).
Education Minister, Tunji Alausa, announced the reform during a stakeholders’ engagement involving state education commissioners, private school operators, school administrators and other education sector stakeholders.
Alausa said the initiative was part of the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen the education system, improve transparency and enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness in global education.
The new system will introduce fixed deadlines for schools to upload students’ continuous assessment records. First-term results are expected to be uploaded in January, second-term records in April and third-term records in August, beginning from the 2026/2027 academic session.
Schools and examination bodies that fail to comply with the guidelines will face sanctions. Penalties will apply to institutions involved in examination malpractice, failure to comply with registration requirements, misrepresentation of students or submission of fraudulent assessment records.
According to the government, the digital system is designed to prevent schools from altering or falsifying students’ scores ahead of final examinations, a practice that has contributed to examination malpractice in the country.
The framework also introduces a formal digital transfer process. A school seeking to transfer a student will initiate the request through the portal, while the receiving institution will have the option to accept or reject it. Once approved, the student’s academic records, including previous assessment history, will automatically be transferred.
The government further stated that students, rather than schools, would own their academic assessment records. As a result, no school would be permitted to independently delete or alter a learner’s historical records.
Schools suspended for violating the regulations will have their assessment portals locked, while affected students will be classified as “orphaned” within the system. WAEC and NECO will be required to notify the relevant state Ministry of Education within two days of any suspension.
To protect affected students from disruption, they will be transferred to nearby accredited schools or temporary examination centres approved by the relevant examination body.
The reform is expected to address longstanding difficulties in integrating continuous assessment scores from Senior Secondary School 1 (SS1) through SS3 into students’ final WAEC and NECO examination results.
The Federal Ministry of Education’s Basic and Senior Secondary Departments will monitor implementation and ensure compliance with the new guidelines.
The ministry said the framework would be reviewed after one year, where necessary, to address emerging challenges and improve its effectiveness.
