Senate Demands Explanations From Education Minister, WAEC on Abrupt SSCE Changes

Amos Dangut, the head of the West African Examinations Council’s (WAEC) national office, and Tunji Alausa, the minister of education, have been called before the Senate to discuss the abrupt introduction of new rules for the 2025–2026 Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE).

This resolution was reportedly the result of a motion made during Tuesday’s plenary by Senator Sunday Karimi (APC, Kogi West).

Karimi raised the motion under Orders 41 and 51 on urgent national problems, expressing grave worry over the sudden shift to the test framework. He said that pupils who had not been taught the courses or prepared for the change were being forced to follow the new curriculum.

He pointed out that SS3 kids who were supposed to take the May/June 2026 exam were being prematurely subjected to the policy, which was initially intended to start with SS1 pupils who were due to take the WAEC in the 2027/2028 session.

For the next WAEC exams, each SS3 student will now need to take two or three more courses. Karimi stated, “These students are obviously unprepared because they have not been taught the courses.”

Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who supported the motion, criticized the policy’s abrupt implementation, calling it rash and ill-considered.

He remarked, “We wake up, think of an idea, and start putting it into practice.”

“Citizens should be informed and ready before a new topic is introduced. Are there enough teachers here? Have the laboratories been set up? There’s no proof of that. We shouldn’t make plans that will make the nation look foolish.

Speaking as well, Senator Idiat Adebule (APC, Lagos West) emphasized the importance of due process, pointing out that the National Council on Education ought to have reviewed and approved such a significant policy change.

Similarly, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Ogun West) contended that no pupil should be tested on topics for which they have not received adequate instruction.

Any kind of assessment must come after proper education. Testing pupils on unfamiliar material is unfair and unsound from an academic standpoint, he stated.

Following much discussion, the Senate decided to hold a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education with both the Minister of Education and the head of WAEC.

Additionally, lawmakers proposed that the revised standards should only apply to the current cohort in SS1 and requested the Federal Government and WAEC to exempt current SS3 students from writing the 2026 WAEC under the new curriculum.