By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The Senate on Tuesday expressed deep concern over what it termed an impending national education crisis following the sudden rollout of a new curriculum and registration guideline by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
Lawmakers said the revised structure would compel current SS3 students to sit for examinations in unfamiliar subjects they had never been taught.
The Red Chamber, after a heated debate, resolved to summon the Minister of Education and heads of relevant agencies to explain the rationale behind the abrupt implementation and Nigeria’s level of preparedness.
The motion was moved by Senator Karimi Sunday-Steve (Kogi West), who warned that the new WAEC guideline—originally intended to take effect in two years —had now been imposed on students who will take the May/June and November/December 2026 examinations.
He described the shift as a recipe for “mass failure,” noting that millions of Nigerian students were being pushed into an academic arrangement for which neither they nor their teachers were prepared.
Karimi explained that the new structure eliminates subjects such as Computer Studies, Civic Education, and all pre-Fourth Grade courses, and replaces them with practical vocational subjects, including cosmetology, livestock farming, garment making, and solar installation.
Under the revised format, students across all specialisations now have only six examinable subjects, two short of WAEC’s required eight, forcing them to pick up additional subjects overnight.
“There are no teachers, no laboratories and no preparation whatsoever,” he said, urging WAEC and the Ministry of Education to exempt the current SS3 cohort and begin implementation with the 2027–2028 academic cycle to allow current SS1 students to grow into the system.
Seconding the motion, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) condemned what he called a “culture of anarchism” in educational policymaking.
He criticised the government for attempting to roll out such a significant shift without teacher training, facility readiness or proper communication with parents.
“In any civilised society, citizens are given two or three years’ notice before a major curriculum change,” Oshiomhole said. “You cannot examine a child on a subject that was never taught.”
Senator Idiat Oluranti (Lagos Central) argued that the overhaul could not have originated solely with the Federal Ministry of Education, noting that the National Council on Education, which includes all state commissioners, must approve such sweeping reforms.
She insisted that a more extensive probe was needed to uncover the motive and process behind the sudden shift.
Senator Solomon Adeola (Ogun West) noted that most of the new subjects are practical and resource-intensive, warning that the fears expressed by parents, teachers and school administrators were justified.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the matter as “very weighty,” ruling that all further directives be suspended until the Minister of Education and heads of relevant agencies appear before the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education.
He said the Senate must act urgently “to prevent mass failure in the 2026 WAEC examinations.”
Akpabio directed the committee to invite the Minister immediately and report back within two weeks, stressing that the policy must not be allowed to jeopardise the future of Nigerian children.
The Senate is expected to revisit the issue before the end of the year upon receiving the committee’s findings.
