Candidates seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions will now pay N4,000 only once to verify their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) O’Level results, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) have clarified.

The clarification was contained in a joint statement issued by the two examination bodies on Tuesday following consultations on the recently introduced system for remote upload and verification of O’Level results.

Under the new arrangement, candidates whose admissions are regulated by JAMB are required to verify their WAEC results once through the board, after which the verification outcome will be made available to the tertiary institution where they are seeking admission.

JAMB and WAEC stressed that candidates would not be required to pay another verification fee to their chosen institutions.

The 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.”

The examination bodies directed tertiary institutions to use the verified results transmitted by JAMB for admission screening, processing and other administrative purposes.

“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 statement added.

The development follows JAMB’s introduction of a system that allows candidates to upload and verify their O’Level results remotely from home or any internet-enabled location, eliminating the need to routinely visit JAMB-approved Computer-Based Test centres solely for the exercise.

The initiative initially commenced with WAEC results and is designed to enable JAMB to verify candidates’ credentials directly with the examination bodies.

WAEC has also authorised JAMB to share verification outcomes with relevant tertiary institutions for admission and related administrative purposes.

“WAEC has agreed to permit JAMB to share the outcome of the verification exercise with the relevant tertiary institutions,” the statement said.

The agencies said the arrangement was intended to prevent candidates from undergoing multiple verification exercises after completing the process through JAMB.

They added that candidates who had successfully verified their WASSCE O’Level results through the Verification Service platform would not be required to repeat the exercise.

The bodies said the collaboration would reduce the financial and logistical burden on candidates while strengthening the integrity of academic records and limiting opportunities for the presentation of fake or altered certificates.

“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,” they said.

Candidates have therefore been advised to complete their WASSCE O’Level verification through the designated JAMB platform and retain their verification information for the admission process.

The clarification means that the N4,000 payment is a one-time fee, rather than an annual or institution-by-institution charge, for candidates covered by the JAMB admission process.

The new arrangement is expected to centralise O’Level verification under JAMB, reducing repeated checks, additional costs and the need for candidates to visit multiple institutions or CBT centres.