The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has revoked the recognition of 574 schools across Nigeria for engaging in examination malpractice. These schools will no longer serve as centres for WAEC-administered exams.

Dr. Amos Dangut, WAEC’s Head of National Office, disclosed this on Thursday during a media briefing at the Council’s headquarters in Lagos. He revealed that the list of affected schools has already been forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Education for appropriate sanctions.

According to Dangut, “These 574 schools have had their recognition withdrawn. WAEC will no longer conduct examinations there. This enforcement strategy will also be replicated by other examination bodies moving forward.”

The announcement comes as WAEC prepares for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), which is scheduled to run from Thursday, April 24 to Friday, June 20, 2025. A total of 1,973,253 candidates from 23,554 schools have registered—an increase of 158,627 candidates compared to last year.

Among the registered candidates, 979,228 are male while 994,025 are female, indicating a slight female majority.

In a major shift towards curbing malpractice and modernising its operations, WAEC will introduce the first Computer-Based WASSCE (CB-WASSCE) for school candidates in 2025. Dangut explained that each candidate will receive a unique set of questions to discourage cheating and ensure fairness.

He reaffirmed WAEC’s dedication to safeguarding the credibility of its examinations by leveraging technology and enforcing strict compliance standards.