New assessment rules: FG mandates digital CA portals for WAEC, NECO

The federal government has rolled out uniform continuous assessment (CA) guidelines that compel the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), to build secure, interoperable portals linked to the Nigeria Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI).

The policy, which covers public and government-approved private secondary schools nationwide, mandates the use of National Learner Identity Numbers (NLIN) tied to the National Identification Number (NIN) for every student, alongside strict termly submission deadlines and penalties for schools that fail to comply.

Tunji Alausa, the minister of education, speaking to stakeholders that included state commissioners for education, private school owners, administrators and other educators, said the reform underscores the government’s commitment to repositioning the education sector for global competitiveness.

The new guidelines show that every licensed school and national examination body is required to comply or risk sanctions, including suspension for examination malpractice, non-compliance with registration directives, misrepresentation of learners, or fraudulent CA submissions.

Experts believe that the reform will effectively end the practice of schools uploading CA data at their own convenience, as portals will now open and close on fixed, nationwide deadlines.

Starting with the 2026/2027 academic session, schools will be required to upload first-term CA records in January, second-term records in April, and third-term records in August.

Beyond tightening data integrity, the government said the move is designed to stop schools from retroactively altering or forging student scores ahead of final…