NECO fee hike suspension
Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has commended the Federal Government for suspending the proposed increase in registration fees for the National Examinations Council and the West African Examinations Council.
The governor described the NECO fee hike suspension as a timely intervention that would reduce the financial burden on Nigerian parents and protect the ability of children from low-income families to complete their secondary education.
Yusuf spoke on Tuesday during the distribution of permanent and pensionable appointment letters to 4,900 newly recruited teachers and the engagement of 3,688 Better Education Service Delivery for All Cohort V facilitators.
The event was held at the Sani Abacha Indoor Stadium in Kofar Mata, Kano State.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mustapha Muhammad, the governor said the Federal Government’s decision demonstrated sensitivity to the economic difficulties confronting families across the country.
He argued that the NECO fee hike suspension would help ensure that examination charges did not become another barrier preventing vulnerable students from obtaining their senior secondary school certificates.
Governor praises Federal Government’s intervention
Yusuf praised the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for withdrawing the proposed examination fee adjustment pending wider consultations.
He also commended the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, for what he described as efforts to promote inclusive, affordable and equitable education.
According to the governor, access to examination opportunities should not depend entirely on the financial strength of a student’s parents.
He maintained that children from poor households must not be denied the opportunity to sit for nationally recognised examinations because of sudden increases in registration costs.
The governor’s support for the NECO fee hike suspension reflects growing concern over the cost of education at a time when many families are struggling with food, transportation, accommodation and school expenses.
The proposed adjustment would have affected candidates registering for the 2027 West African Senior School Certificate Examination and the NECO Senior School Certificate Examination.NECO fee hike suspension
Proposed fee rose to ₦50,000
The Federal Government had earlier approved a uniform examination registration fee of ₦50,000 for WAEC and NECO candidates from 2027.
Published reports put the previous benchmark at approximately ₦27,500, meaning the proposed adjustment represented an increase of about 82 per cent.
The Federal Ministry of Education explained that the review was prompted by the rising cost of organising credible public examinations across Nigeria.
The ministry listed logistics, security, printing, technology deployment, quality assurance and other operational requirements among the expenses placing pressure on examination bodies.
However, the proposal attracted criticism from parents, students, education administrators, organised groups and political leaders.
The government subsequently announced the NECO fee hike suspension, alongside the suspension of the proposed increase in WAEC registration fees.
The ministry said a letter dated June 18, 2026, which communicated the proposed adjustment, had been withdrawn to allow for a comprehensive review and broader consultations before any final decision.NECO fee hike suspension
Suspension is not a permanent cancellation
It is important to state that the Federal Government has suspended the proposed increase rather than permanently cancelled every possibility of a future adjustment.
The Ministry of Education said the proposal had been placed on hold while consultations were conducted with relevant stakeholders.
Those expected to participate include WAEC, NECO, state ministries of education, school proprietors, administrators, parents’ associations, organised labour and other education stakeholders.
This means the NECO fee hike suspension is temporary while the government reviews the financial needs of examination bodies and the ability of families to pay.
Any future decision should therefore balance two legitimate concerns.
The first is the need for examination bodies to maintain credible and secure examinations despite increasing operational expenses.
The second is the need to keep national examinations affordable for millions of students whose families are already under severe economic pressure.
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Proposed increase threatened poorer families
For many Nigerian households, examination registration is only one part of the cost of educating a child.
Parents must also pay for uniforms, books, transportation, lessons, school development levies and, in some cases, accommodation.
A family with three children preparing for senior secondary examinations could have faced a registration bill of ₦150,000 under the proposed uniform fee, excluding other school expenses.
That burden explains why parents and education stakeholders strongly supported the NECO fee hike suspension.
Education analysts who reacted to the government’s decision said the proposed ₦50,000 charge could have pushed examinations beyond the reach of children from poor homes.
Some also argued that the existing fees were already difficult for many families to pay, especially where parents had more than one child preparing for the examinations.
The controversy therefore went beyond the percentage increase. It raised a deeper question about whether public examinations should be treated largely as commercial services or as essential gateways within Nigeria’s education system.
Kano acknowledges UBEC support
Governor Yusuf also expressed appreciation to the Federal Ministry of Education and the Universal Basic Education Commission for supporting education programmes in Kano State.
He particularly acknowledged UBEC Executive Secretary Aisha Garba for the release of counterpart funds used for the construction and rehabilitation of schools and other basic education projects.
The governor said partnerships between the Federal Government, Kano State and national education agencies were essential to improving learning outcomes.
He pledged to strengthen collaboration with the Ministry of Education, UBEC, NECO and other relevant institutions.
His comments on the NECO fee hike suspension came during a major teacher recruitment programme, giving the statement a broader education reform context.
The Kano government said it recruited 4,900 permanent teachers and engaged 3,688 BESDA facilitators as part of efforts to address shortages in basic and secondary schools.
The administration also said more than 13,600 qualified teachers had been recruited between May 2023 and June 2026.
Recruitment must translate into better learning
The recruitment of teachers is significant, but appointment figures alone will not solve Kano’s education challenges.
The state must ensure that the new teachers are properly deployed, regularly trained and paid as promised.
Schools also need classrooms, furniture, toilets, safe water, learning materials and effective supervision.
The NECO fee hike suspension may protect families from an immediate increase in examination costs, but children must first receive the quality of teaching required to perform well in those examinations.
Kano recorded a strong showing in the 2025 NECO examination, with the state producing the highest number of candidates who obtained five credits and above, including Mathematics and English Language.
That performance placed greater responsibility on the government to sustain investment in teachers, school infrastructure and student support.
Government must find a sustainable solution
Suspending the fee increase is a welcome response to public concern, but the underlying financial problem has not disappeared.
WAEC and NECO still face rising expenditure on printing, transportation, security, digital technology, marking, supervision and measures against examination malpractice.
The Federal Government must therefore develop a funding model that does not transfer every additional cost directly to parents.
Possible options include increased budgetary support, targeted subsidies for vulnerable students, transparent state-level assistance and improved financial accountability within examination bodies.
Any future fee review must be based on independently verifiable costs and subjected to public consultation before implementation.
The government should also consider a differentiated support system through which students from poorer households receive full or partial examination subsidies.
Without such safeguards, the end of the present NECO fee hike suspension could simply return the country to the same controversy.
Ogele News perspective
Governor Yusuf was right to welcome the Federal Government’s decision.
At a time of widespread economic hardship, increasing examination fees by more than 80 per cent would have created another obstacle for families determined to keep their children in school.
Nevertheless, celebration of the NECO fee hike suspension should not prevent an honest discussion about the cost of conducting secure and credible examinations.
Examination bodies cannot operate effectively without adequate funding. Parents, however, cannot be treated as the only available source of that funding.
The Ministry of Education must use the consultation period to produce a transparent and sustainable arrangement that protects students while meeting legitimate operational costs.
The government should publish the financial basis for any future adjustment, explain what each component of the fee covers and introduce support for candidates from low-income homes.
For Kano State, the challenge is equally clear. The government must ensure that its recruitment of thousands of teachers produces smaller class sizes, better instruction and improved examination performance.
The NECO fee hike suspension has provided temporary relief. The next task is to build an education financing system in which no Nigerian child is excluded from a final examination because their parents cannot afford the registration charge.
