WAEC Updates Rules on Five Compulsory Subjects for 2026

The mandatory subjects that candidates taking the May/June 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and later editions must register for have been updated by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

Additionally, the council affirmed that science students may register for and take Economics as one of the exam’s elective courses.

Following the conclusion of this year’s Annual Meeting (63rd edition) of the Nigeria National Committee (NNC) of WAEC, which took place over the weekend in Umuahia, Abia State, Dr. Amos Dangut, Head of the National Office of WAEC Nigeria, gave an explanation of this at a news conference.

The NNC, which includes almost all parties involved in the education sector, is the top decision-making body of WAEC in Nigeria. Members convene once a year, alternating between the Federal Capital Territory and the 36 states that make up the federation.

“We want to reassure all students that no candidate will be restricted from registering for subjects from other subject groups or distinct elective fields,” stated Dangut. In particular, studying economics as an option is not prohibited for scientific students. To finish their pick, they might select the topic.

In order to guarantee that students select the appropriate set of subjects, Dangut recommended schools and their counselors to appropriately assist students during exam registration.

The “streamlined and reviewed subjects in line with the federal government’s directive,” which will be used for the 2026 exam, he said, make this guidance imperative.

“The subjects to be offered by candidates have now been categorized into five distinct fields, namely: core subjects, science subjects, humanities subjects, business subjects, and trade subjects,” he said.

He pointed out that the five basic subjects—English Language, General Mathematics, Citizenship and Heritage Studies Education, Digital Technologies, and Vocational Trade Subjects—are now mandatory.

He clarified, however, that applicants will not be tested in Digital Technologies or Citizenship and Heritage Studies Education in 2026; these courses will only be examined beginning in 2028.

This is due to the fact that they are new subjects, necessitating the creation of new curricula and test syllabi. As a result, they won’t be tested until 2028, after the entire curriculum has been implemented.

Candidates registering for the WASSCE in 2026 and 2027 will therefore only need to take three necessary subjects: one trade subject, general mathematics, and English language.

In order to meet the exam registration requirements, candidates must choose five or six additional subjects in addition to these three core required subjects, totaling a minimum of eight and a maximum of nine subjects.

Additionally, Dangut clarified that the number of trade subjects has been reduced from 26 to six. The curriculum substance and exam syllabi of certain subjects have not changed, despite their renaming.

He underlined that as the curriculum and substance of the renamed subjects remain the same, pupils would be tested on them.

The HNO made it clear that the government alone is in charge of developing and reviewing curricula, and WAEC has no involvement in either. Assessing students on government-provided curricula for use in classrooms is the responsibility of WAEC. Therefore, he continued, it is inaccurate to ascribe curriculum review to WAEC.

Dangut added that in order to facilitate a seamless transition of WAEC exams to full computer-based testing (CBT) mode, schools have been divided into three groups.

He claims that while some schools in cities might combine computer-based and pen-and-paper methods, others, particularly in rural regions, might not adopt CBT tests right once. Even by 2026, some might provide tests only using CBT as a test run.

“However, we are certain that every applicant will be given the chance to take the test in 2026,” he said.

Additionally, Dangut promised that no candidates would be sent to exam locations that were more than two kilometers away from their residences.

In order to make sure that all candidates achieve the Continuous Assessment Scores (CASS) criteria, he recommended that schools administer at least three different Continuous Assessment Tests.

For this reason, he explained, the council has postponed the deadline for submitting CASS to the special website until a later time. In order to guarantee a seamless and reliable examination, he continued, WAEC has established the prolongation.