Candidates are required to enter and sit for a minimum of eight (8) and maximum of nine (9) subjects. These must include the following:
- English Language
- General Mathematics
- *Citizenship and Heritage Studies Education
- *Digital Technologies
These are the core subjects. In addition to the above, all candidates must complete their registered subjects from the listed below:
Science: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Agriculture, Further Mathematics, Physical Education, Health Education, Foods & Nutrition, Geography, Technical Drawing
Humanities: Nigerian History, Government, Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, One Nigerian Language (Hausa/Igbo/Yoruba), French, Arabic, Visual Art, Music, Literature-in-English, Home Management, Catering Craft
Business: Accounting, Commerce, Marketing, Economics
Trade Subjects: Fashion Design and Garment Making, Livestock Farming, Beauty and Cosmetology, Computer Hardware and GSM Repairs, Solar Photovoltaic installation and maintenance, Horticulture and Crop Production.
Note: *Citizenship and Heritage Studies, and Digital Technologies are new subjects that require the development of new curricula and examination syllabuses and would therefore not be examined until 2028 (after a full implementation of the syllabus).
Candidates registering for WASSCE in 2026 and 2027 would only be able to sit two (2) core subjects, namely:
- English Language
- General Mathematics
In addition to the two (2) core subjects currently available, candidates are to select six or seven other subjects to make a minimum of eight subjects and a maximum of nine subjects.
WAEC certificates have no expiry date.
WAEC does not prepare candidates for its examinations by establishing secondary schools or tutorial centres, and no such institutions are affiliated to the Council.
WAEC provides feedback in the form of Chief Examiners' Report on candidates' perofrmance in the various papers for each examination diet, which helps schools and private candidates to prepare adequately for subsequent examinations. The Chief Examiners' Reports are avialable for sale at the Council's offices nationwide.
Yes, but only if (s)he is a school candidate. No provision is made for a private candidate in this regard. Even then, a school candidate does not write directly to WAEC. It is her/his principal who, knowing the candidate's ability, forwards a request for the review of the candidate's scripts. Of course, there is a specified fee to be paid on every paper to be reviewed. Such requests should be sent in within sixty days of any examination.
There are three categories of officials: supervisors, invigilators and inspectors. Supervisors are teachers nominated by the various State Ministries of Education. They are actually responsible for conducting the exams at the various centres. It is their responsibility to collect question papers from the custodian and return answer scripts to the custodian centres.
Invigilators are usually teaching staff nominated by their school principals to assist the supervisors at the centres, while inspectors are WAEC staff members who go from one centre to another when the examination is in progress.
In the case of the school examination, the prospective candidate must be in the SS 3 class in a recognized school, For the private candidates' examination, any one of the following categories may enter for the WASSCE:
- Those who have attempted the WASSCE in previous years;
- Those who have attempted the GCE and obtained a pass in at least three subjects;
- Those who have passed the Teachers’ Grade two examination.
Yes. Reports about functionaries who are teachers are made to the various State Ministries of Education and All Nigerian Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) for disciplinary measures. Such functionaries have been disciplined in the past. WAEC has its own procedures for disciplining erring inspectors.
No. The marking of scripts is handled by examiners appointed by WAEC. They are usually educationists who are familiar with the classroom situation and their identities are not supposed to be disclosed.
