Civic Education and Computer Studies Reinstated But Action Still Needed
The December 10 WAEC Circular to Schools, Which Reinstates Civic Education and Computer Studies (now Labelled Digital Technologies), Falls Short of What is Needed
ERC Calls on WAEC and Federal Ministry of Education to Base the 2026 WASSCE on the Full Complement of Subjects from the Old Curriculum
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC), alongside parent, teacher and student groups, notes that, in response to public pressure including demands from the National Assembly, WAEC’s December 10 2025 letter to school principals reinstated Civic Education and Computer Studies (Digital Technologies) as subjects for the 2026 WASSCE.
We welcome the reinstatement of Civic Education and Computer Studies, but we condemn outright the piecemeal manner in which the issue of 2026 WASSCE subjects is being handled. The addition of these two subjects does not solve the larger problem as many students remain unable to register for the required minimum of eight subjects unless they select new subjects they have not studied since SSS 1. For instance, a business student currently studying Storekeeping and Insurance cannot register for those subjects because they are unavailable in WAEC’s portal, and arts and science students encounter the same obstacle with different trade subjects such as Dyeing and Bleaching and Data Processing.
We also note glaring inconsistencies in WAEC’s communications to school principals. For instance, a WAEC’s letter dated 21 November 2025 stated that Digital Technologies was a new subject and would not be examined until 2028 due to a lack of curriculum and syllabus. This directly contradicts WAEC’s own letter of 10 December 2025, which equates Digital Technologies with Computer Studies. Such contradictions erode confidence in our education system.
It is clear that WAEC’s stop‑gap measure stems from an ego‑driven reluctance to fully revert to the old curriculum for the 2026 examinations. We therefore demand that the 2026 WASSCE be based on the complete set of subjects from the old curriculum, as this is the only way to ensure that no current SSS 3 student is forced to sit for a subject they have not studied since SSS 1.
We further urge the National Assembly and public at large to sustain the intervention to hold both WAEC and the Ministry accountable, and protect the current SSS 3 students from an unjust, irrational decision that would force them to sit for subjects they have not studied since SSS 1.
Adaramoye Michael Lenin
National Mobilisation Officer, ERC
E-mail: [email protected]
Olanrewaju Akinola
Representative, Concerned Parents