The Examination Reform Coalition has renewed its criticism of the Federal Ministry of Education, warning that the push to apply Nigeria’s new curriculum to the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination risks throwing thousands of students into needless academic distress. The group argued that the Ministry’s insistence on using the revised subject structure next year ignores its own transition timetable and contradicts official guidance already issued by WAEC.
The ERC recalled that the Ministry’s September 3 announcement on curriculum changes acknowledged a transition period. Soon after, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council clarified that implementation would begin only at the entry points of each three-year cycle, meaning Primary 1, Primary 4, JSS 1 and SSS 1. By that schedule, the current SSS 1 cohort would be the first to take WASSCE under the new curriculum in 2028, not 2026. The coalition described the Ministry’s current stance as baffling and detached from the practical realities of school preparation.
Lawmakers reached a similar conclusion. On December 4, the House of Representatives directed the Ministry to suspend the planned change, stressing that no student could reasonably prepare for subjects they had never studied, especially with the examination only months away. Yet the ERC noted that the Ministry issued another statement two days later that failed to address the central problem.
The coalition also challenged the Ministry’s claim that Information and Communication Technology had simply been renamed Digital Technology. According to a WAEC circular dated November 21, Digital Technologies would not be examined until 2028 because it requires fresh curriculum and syllabus development. This, the group said, contradicts the Ministry’s public assertion that candidates can sit for the subject in 2026.
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Confusion deepened when the Ministry included Civic Education and Automobile Mechanics in a November 25 announcement on online classes even though neither subject will appear in the 2026 examination. The ERC questioned why students were being directed toward courses that WAEC will not assess, adding that families deserve a clearer and more responsible approach from the authorities.
While acknowledging the broader goal of reducing subject overload, the ERC maintained that applying the new curriculum to the 2026 WASSCE is misguided and unfair to today’s SSS 3 students. It warned that the abrupt shift could distort performance, disrupt school planning and burden parents already struggling with the cost of education.
The coalition urged the Ministry to restore order to the process and uphold the original plan, which schedules the new curriculum for full examination in 2028. It called on officials to align with WAEC’s cycle and allow the current curriculum to run through 2027 as initially designed, arguing that anything short of this risks undermining confidence in Nigeria’s education system at a critical moment.
