The Federal Government, examination bodies and representatives of private schools have proposed a harmonised timetable for national examinations to be conducted in 2027.
This was contained in a communique issued following a meeting of the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, with examination bodies and representatives of private schools on the harmonisation of examination timetables held on September 30, 2026.
The communique was signed by Dr. Bukola Dosunmu, Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Education Government Private Sector Working Group.
According to the communique, the stakeholders reached resolutions on the harmonisation of examination timetables and teacher qualification requirements for examination centres.
Under the proposed National Examination Timetable for 2027, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (JAMB-UTME) is scheduled to hold from March 15 to March 25, 2027, while the National Examinations Council-Senior School Certificate Examination (NECO-SSCE) is proposed to hold from April 1 to May 14, 2027, with results to be released in August 2027.
The West African Examinations Council -Senior School Certificate Examination, (WAEC-WASSCE) is proposed for May 11 to June 18, 2027, with results also scheduled for August 2027, while the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) and the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies, NBAIS, examinations are both proposed for June to July 2027.
The communique noted that registration and results release dates for some of the examinations will be communicated in due course, adding that the proposed dates are subject to confirmation by the respective examination bodies.
On compliance, the meeting resolved that schools accredited as examination centres are required to ensure that at least 75 per cent of their teachers are licensed by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, (TRCN) by December 11, 2026.
It stated that compliance will be verified and the details of schools that meet the requirement will be uploaded to the designated registration portal, while schools that fail to meet the requirement will not be approved to serve as examination centres for any of the examinations.
The communique added that further details and updates on the implementation of the resolutions will be communicated in due course.
Recall that the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, had petitioned the ministry over concerns surrounding the conduct and results of the 2026 WASSCE, demanding a comprehensive review of the results.
The association had raised concerns over the pattern of results released by WAEC, outstanding results, the performance of candidates who sat the Computer-Based Examination and the need for greater transparency in the examination and result management process.
NAPPS had also called for the strengthening of NECO as an alternative examination pathway, while a committee was established to harmonise the timetables of national examination bodies and ensure that results are released early enough to support tertiary institution admission processes.
