The Federal Government, national examination bodies and representatives of private schools have proposed a harmonised timetable for major national examinations scheduled to take place in 2027.
The proposed timetable was contained in a communique issued after a meeting between the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, examination bodies and representatives of private schools on September 30, 2026.
The meeting, coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Education Government Private Sector Working Group, also addressed teacher qualification requirements for schools seeking accreditation as examination centres.
Under the proposed timetable, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) is scheduled to hold from March 15 to March 25, 2027.
The National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) is proposed to take place from April 1 to May 14, 2027, with results expected to be released in August.
Similarly, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is proposed to run from May 11 to June 18, 2027, with results also scheduled for release in August.
The National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) and the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) examinations are both proposed to take place between June and July 2027.
However, the communique stressed that the proposed dates remain subject to confirmation by the respective examination bodies, while registration and some results-release dates would be announced later.
The stakeholders also resolved that schools accredited to serve as examination centres must ensure that at least 75 per cent of their teachers are licensed by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) by December 11, 2026.
The Federal Ministry of Education said compliance would be verified, after which details of schools that meet the requirement would be uploaded to the designated registration portal.
Schools that fail to meet the requirement will not be approved to serve as examination centres for any of the national examinations.
The harmonisation initiative follows concerns raised by the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) over the conduct and results of the 2026 WASSCE.
NAPPS had called for a comprehensive review of the 2026 WASSCE results, citing concerns over the pattern of results, outstanding results, the performance of candidates who took the Computer-Based Examination and the transparency of the examination and result management process.
The association also advocated strengthening NECO as an alternative examination pathway.
Following the concerns, a committee was established to harmonise the timetables of national examination bodies and ensure that examination results are released early enough to support admission processes into tertiary institutions.
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