The National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced a reduction in the number of objective questions for the English Language Paper III in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal.
Effective from the 2026 SSCE internal exams, the total number of questions will be reduced from 100 to 80.
According to a formal notification made accessible to Chronicle NG on Wednesday and signed by the State Coordinator for Osun State, Sunday K. Bolaji, dated September 1, 2025, the new paper structure consists of six pieces.
Antonyms (10 questions), appropriateness of registers (10 questions), appropriate interpretation of idioms, phrasal verbs, and foreign words (10 questions), synonyms (10 questions), grammatical structures (30 questions), and cloze text (10 questions).
Paper III will also be limited to 50 minutes. This modification is intended to streamline the examination procedure and improve the testing experience for students.
On August 29, NECO confirmed it will fully transition from the traditional paper-and-pencil examination method to a computer-based testing system, starting with the November/December 2025 SSCE external.
This transition is consistent with the Federal Government’s July 2025 instruction to establish private and public CBT centers nationwide for school-based SSCEs by 2026.
NECO has asked interested CBT center operators from across Nigeria to apply for accreditation, subject to stringent technological, infrastructural, and security standards to ensure examination integrity and smooth execution.
This initiative seeks to modernize Nigeria’s examination system, decrease misconduct, and increase operational efficiency while expanding digital education access statewide.
