Precious Nwonu, Enugu
Candidates seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions will now pay N4,000 only once to verify their West African Senior School Certificate Examination O’Level results, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and the West African Examinations Council have said.
The clarification was contained in a joint press statement issued by JAMB and WAEC on Tuesday, following consultations on the recently introduced system allowing candidates to upload and verify their O’Level results remotely.
Under the new arrangement, candidates whose admissions are regulated and coordinated by JAMB are required to verify their WAEC results once through JAMB, after which the outcome will be made available to the tertiary institution where they are seeking admission.
The two examination bodies stressed that candidates would not be required to pay another verification fee to their chosen institutions.
The joint statement said, “Candidates are to pay N4,000 only, once, for the verification of their WASSCE O’ Level results on the specified platform and not through their desired institutions.”
JAMB and WAEC further directed tertiary institutions to utilise the verified results transmitted by JAMB for admission screening, processing and other administrative purposes.
According to the statement, “Tertiary institutions are to utilise the verified results shared by JAMB for screening, processing candidate admission and other administrative purposes. Candidates shall not be required to pay for another verification.”
The development followed JAMB’s recent introduction of a system that enables candidates to upload and verify their O’Level results from home or any internet-enabled location, eliminating the need to routinely visit JAMB-approved Computer-Based Test centres solely for the exercise.
JAMB had explained that the new arrangement initially commenced with WAEC results and was designed to enable the board to verify candidates’ results directly with the examination bodies.
The initiative was presented as part of efforts to make admission-related services easier, faster, safer and more convenient for candidates.
With Tuesday’s clarification, however, the two bodies have now established that the verification conducted through JAMB will be a one-off exercise, with the verified result available for subsequent use by the relevant institution.
WAEC has also authorised JAMB to share the outcome of the verification with the tertiary institutions concerned.
The joint statement said, “WAEC has agreed to permit JAMB to share the outcome of the verification exercise with the relevant tertiary institutions” for admission and related administrative purposes.
The agencies said the arrangement was intended to prevent candidates from being subjected to multiple verification exercises by different institutions after completing the process through JAMB.
They added that the policy would also reduce the financial and logistical burden associated with repeated verification.
“Candidates who have successfully verified their WASSCE O’ Level result through the Verification Service platform will not be required to repeat the same verification exercise,” the statement said.
The bodies urged candidates to take advantage of the arrangement by completing their WASSCE O’Level verification through the JAMB-provided platform once, noting that the verified result would subsequently be utilised by the relevant institution.
The latest development comes as thousands of Nigerian youths continue to navigate the 2026/2027 tertiary admission process, with O’Level results remaining a critical component of admission screening and eligibility.
In the past, candidates have had to upload their O’Level results through approved channels and, in some cases, undertake additional verification processes required by individual institutions. JAMB’s new technology-driven approach is aimed at reducing such repeated processes and limiting visits to CBT centres.
The two examination bodies said the collaboration was also intended to strengthen the integrity of academic records and reduce opportunities for the presentation of fake or altered certificates during the admission process.
They stated, “This collaboration underscores the commitment of both JAMB and WAEC to putting the interests of candidates first, reducing unnecessary costs and simplifying the admission process while maintaining the integrity and security of candidates’ academic records.”
The agencies therefore advised candidates to ensure that they complete the verification through the designated JAMB platform and retain their verification information for the admission process.
The clarification effectively means that the N4,000 payment is not an annual or institution-by-institution charge, but a one-time payment for candidates covered by the JAMB admission process.
Before the new arrangement, O’Level result verification was largely fragmented, with candidates required to upload their WAEC, NECO or other O’Level results to the JAMB platform as part of the admission process, while individual tertiary institutions could impose additional screening and document-verification requirements.
WAEC also operated a separate result-verification system, meaning candidates could face further verification of academic credentials already submitted during the admission process.
This created additional costs, movement between institutions and JAMB-approved Computer-Based Test centres, and the possibility of repeated checks of the same result.
The new arrangement is designed to centralise the process, as candidates will pay N4,000 once to verify their WASSCE O’Level results through JAMB, after which the verification outcome will be made available to the relevant tertiary institution.
The institutions are expected to rely on the verified result and will not be permitted to demand another verification payment from candidates.
The two examination bodies said the “one verification, multiple uses” system would reduce costs, ease the admission process and spare candidates the stress of repeatedly visiting institutions or CBT centres.
Punch News
