CBT for WAEC: Nigeria to Connect Every School to High-Speed Internet

Nigeria is embarking on a digital transformation of its education sector through a new inter-ministerial partnership.

Education Minister Maruf Alausa and Communications Minister Bosun Tijani met in Abuja to finalize the deployment of high-speed internet to primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions.

This is part of a presidential directive to expand the nation’s digital infrastructure.

To achieve this, the government hopes to leverage a 90,000-kilometer fiber optic cable project and 3,700 new telecommunications towers specifically targeting rural areas.

The Road to Full Computer-Based Testing

The primary goal of this connectivity drive is to move national examinations away from paper and pencil.

“We plan that within the next two to three years, major examinations such as WAEC and NECO will transit fully to Computer-Based Testing,” Alausa stated during the briefing.

This shift aims to reduce exam malpractice and speed up result processing, impacting millions of students nationwide.

While previous efforts under the Nigerian Research and Education Network slowed down after World Bank funding ended, this new push focuses on internal sustainability and local government reach.

Minister Tijani pointed out that while Nigeria leads Africa in subsea cable capacity, the inland distribution remains the alleged bottleneck.

By extending fiber to every local government, the government expects to bridge the gap between urban and rural learning outcomes.

“We are planning proactively so that as broadband cables are laid and towers deployed across the country, they are strategically connected to our schools,” Alausa added.

This infrastructure is similar to the “Super Grid” in its ambition to provide a foundational utility—in this case, data—to drive the modern economy.

For the average Nigerian parent, this means their children will finally gain the digital skills needed for global competition.

A trader in Onitsha or a farmer in Kaduna should mean their children will be taking standard, normal exams on computers, reducing the money spent on physical materials and logistics.

Two technical working groups are already active to ensure that tertiary and foundational schools receive tailored solutions.

This investment is intended to ensure that Nigerian students are not left behind in a technology-driven global marketplace.

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