Zamfara State has moved to overhaul the registration process for senior secondary school examinations following the discovery of widespread irregularities in recent enrolments for national examinations.
Governor Dauda Lawal announced that the registration of candidates for the Senior Secondary Schools Certificate Examinations (SSCE), including WAEC and NECO, will now be centrally digitalised and managed at the state level. The decision follows the identification of about 6,000 non-existent students in previous examination records, which the state said resulted in significant financial losses.
The governor disclosed the development during a meeting with principals and examination officers of public secondary schools across the state. He said the Zamfara Information Technology Development Agency (ZITDA), under its Executive Secretary, Habib Gajam, has been assigned responsibility for handling the registration of all eligible students.
According to the governor, forensic checks conducted by the state revealed inconsistencies in candidate records and expenditure linked to examination registrations. He said the state had spent large sums on WAEC and NECO fees and that the discrepancies uncovered were backed by verifiable data.
Governor Lawal told the school administrators that the meeting was convened to address concerns surrounding examination registration practices and to outline new measures aimed at tightening oversight. He said the administration had observed coordinated activities within some schools that enabled the manipulation of candidate lists.
He further directed principals and examination officers to withdraw from the SSCE registration process, citing reported cases of corruption and diversion of educational resources. The governor warned that disciplinary action would be taken against individuals who failed to comply with the new directive.
Under the revised system, student records will be captured digitally from the point of entry into junior secondary school through to senior secondary school. The governor said the process would include biometric data collection and mandatory verification of student progression between classes, with measures in place to prevent the inclusion of unauthorised candidates.
He added that the reforms are intended to improve transparency, safeguard public funds and ensure that examination support reaches eligible students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.
