JAMB, WAEC INTRODUCE ONE-TIME N4,000 FEE FOR WASSCE RESULT VERIFICATION

Candidates seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions will now pay a one-time fee of N4,000 for the verification of their West African Senior School Certificate Examination O’Level results, following a new arrangement between the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and the West African Examinations Council.

The two examination bodies announced the new arrangement as part of efforts to simplify the tertiary admission process and strengthen the verification of candidates’ academic records. Under the arrangement, candidates will make the N4,000 payment through the designated JAMB platform during the admission process.

JAMB and WAEC explained that the payment is one-off, meaning candidates will not be required to pay the N4,000 repeatedly for different institutions or as an annual verification charge. The clarification is expected to provide greater certainty for candidates who are applying to tertiary institutions and may previously have encountered separate verification requirements.

The agencies said the collaboration was designed to reduce unnecessary costs for admission seekers while creating a more efficient system for authenticating O’Level results. The arrangement is also expected to strengthen the integrity of academic records presented by candidates during the admission process.

The new system will be particularly relevant to candidates whose WASSCE results are being used to meet admission requirements for universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Candidates will be expected to complete the verification through the approved JAMB process as part of their admission-related requirements.

JAMB and WAEC also stressed the importance of protecting the credibility of Nigeria’s admission system. According to the examination bodies, the collaboration will help reduce cases involving the presentation of fake, altered or otherwise fraudulent examination certificates.

The agencies said the unified approach would also make it easier to authenticate candidates’ results while reducing the administrative burden associated with separate verification processes.

Candidates have consequently been advised to ensure that their WASSCE details are correctly submitted through the designated platform and to retain their verification information after completing the process. This documentation may be required during subsequent stages of their admission processing.

The development comes shortly after the release of the 2026 WASSCE results, with many secondary school leavers currently preparing for admission into higher institutions. The timing means the new verification arrangement is expected to affect a large number of prospective students participating in the 2026/2027 admission cycle.

The new policy also reinforces the growing collaboration between JAMB and WAEC in ensuring that candidates’ academic credentials can be authenticated efficiently before they are admitted into tertiary institutions.

For prospective students, the major change is that the N4,000 verification payment should be treated as a single charge for the relevant admission process rather than a fee that has to be paid repeatedly to different institutions.

The two bodies maintained that the initiative is ultimately aimed at making the admission process more straightforward for candidates while maintaining strong safeguards against examination-result fraud and protecting the credibility of Nigeria’s higher education system.