Secondary schools across Nigeria may spend about N1.6 trillion to meet the West African Examinations Council’s (WAEC) new requirement for Computer-Based Testing (CBT) centres.
WAEC has directed that every school must have at least 250 working desktop computers, a strong server, a local area network, CCTV cameras, and other facilities before they can qualify as CBT centres for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
In a statement, WAEC said the move is part of its full transition to computer-based exams.
“Schools that cannot meet these standards will be assigned to designated external centres, and WAEC will not lower its standards for hosting schools,” the council said.
BusinessDay reported that a fairly used desktop computer sells for between N250,000 and N300,000 at the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos. This means each school would spend between N62.5 million and N75 million to purchase the required 250 computers. Using an average estimate of N68 million per school, the total cost for all 23,554 approved WASSCE centres across the country would reach N1.6 trillion.
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Education stakeholders fear that the cost could widen the gap between schools in cities and those in rural areas.
A teacher, Gift Osikoya, raised concerns about the burden.
“Two hundred and fifty systems are not a small investment. Beyond the purchasing costs, schools would face the challenges of a constant power supply, internet, maintenance, and security risk,” she said.
While some schools may quickly adjust to the new CBT system, many others—especially in rural areas—risk being left behind, forcing their students to sit for exams at external centres.