The Executive Director iRead To Live Initiative, Jacob Sule. Credit: Facebook

The Executive Director iRead To Live Initiative, Jacob Sule. Credit: Facebook

An independent higher education policy think tank, Read To Live Initiative, has called on the Federal Ministry of Education to publish the cost evidence behind its proposed increase in WAEC and NECO registration fees before any final decision is made.

The Ministry’s June 18, 2026 circular had approved a uniform fee of N50,000 for both examinations — an 82 per cent increase over WAEC’s current N27,000 and a 67 per cent increase over NECO’s N30,000.

The proposal was suspended on July 13 following public criticism, pending wider stakeholder consultations.

In a statement obtained by our correspondent on Sunday, its Executive Director, Jacob Sule, said the suspension alone was not enough, and that the upcoming consultation must be grounded in transparent, published evidence rather than simply give the appearance of due process.

“iRead To Live Initiative, Nigeria’s independent higher education policy think tank, urges the Federal Ministry of Education to release the operational cost evidence that informed its earlier proposal to increase WAEC and NECO registration fees before taking any final decision.

“iRead states that the suspension alone is insufficient, and urges that the anticipated stakeholder consultation must demonstrate transparent evidence rather than simply restore the appearance of due process, ” the statement partly read.

The group questioned why any cost analysis behind the N50,000 fee, including documentation from a March 31, 2026 meeting it says informed the decision, was not released alongside the original circular.

It argued that a fee increase affecting 2.24 million UTME candidates should not be announced first and justified afterwards.

According to the think tank’s analysis, WAEC’s registration fee rose by approximately 94 per cent between 2019 and 2025, from N13,950 to N27,000. The proposed N50,000 fee would bring the cumulative increase since 2019 to 258 per cent.

“iRead also notes that the suspension of the proposed fee raises specific questions the Ministry must answer publicly before the consultation proceeds. If the N50,000 fee was grounded in documented operational cost evidence, why was that evidence not published alongside the June 18 circular?

“If the proposed increase was based on a cost analysis submitted by WAEC or NECO, why has that analysis not been released? A fee increase affecting 2.24 million UTME candidates is not an administrative adjustment. It is a policy decision that requires a publicly available evidence base before announcement, not an evidence hunt conducted after the announcement proves unpopular, ” he said.

Sule also cited Nigeria’s 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, which found that 63 per cent of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor.

“Examination registration fees have been revised upward repeatedly, across multiple administrations, without any cost justification published for public scrutiny. The institutions that collect billions of naira annually from Nigerian families have never been required to show their financial workings to the public they serve, “Sule added.

He described this as a longstanding pattern spanning multiple administrations, rather than an issue specific to the current one.

Sule called on the Federal Ministry of Education, WAEC, NECO, the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Education, and the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation to take several steps before any revised fee is announced.

“These include publishing the full cost analysis behind the June 18 circular, releasing WAEC’s and NECO’s most recent audited financial statements, having the National Assembly summon relevant officials to present cost evidence publicly, and publishing disaggregated findings on how proposed fee levels would affect candidacy among low-income households, “he said.