EXAMINATIONS · CENTRES

Examination centres

Where the papers are written. 1,180 Common Entrance centres, 620 BECE centres and 268 senior certificate centres, spread across all 44 local government areas so that no candidate travels outside their own area to sit a paper.

How centres are distributed

A centre is a school accredited to host a particular series in a particular session. Accreditation is not permanent and it is not general: a school accredited for the Common Entrance is not thereby accredited for the BECE, and a school accredited last session must be inspected again before this one.

Centres follow candidates. Common Entrance is written by the whole Primary 6 cohort, so it needs the most centres and reaches into every ward. The BECE and the Qualifying Examination use the junior secondary schools. WASSCE and SSCE use the senior secondary schools and so are concentrated where senior schools are — the metropolitan areas of Kano Municipal, Dala, Fagge, Gwale, Nassarawa, Tarauni, Kumbotso and Ungogo carry a disproportionate share, while a rural area may hold only two or three.

The Ministry's working rule is that no candidate should travel outside their own local government area to write a paper, and that no candidate in a metropolitan area should travel more than one ward. Where a school cannot be accredited, its candidates are attached to the nearest accredited centre and the education authority arranges transport for the days of the papers.

Centres deployed this session

1,180

Common Entrance centres

Primary 6, in every ward

620

BECE centres

Also used for the Qualifying Examination

268

Senior certificate centres

WASSCE and SSCE, accredited by the councils

Local government areas

All of them, in six education zones

Centres by local government area

Accredited centres in each of the 44 areas for the three largest series. Common Entrance reaches every ward; the senior certificate series sit only where there is a senior secondary school. Confirm your own centre on the photo card issued by your school.

Local government area	Code	Zone	BECE	Common Entrance	WASSCE / SSCE
Ajingi	AJI	Wudil Zone	9	18	4
Albasu	ALB	Gaya Zone	15	27	7
Bagwai	BGW	Kano North	13	24	5
Bebeji	BEB	Rano Zone	11	22	5
Bichi	BIC	Kano North	10	20	4
Bunkure	BUN	Rano Zone	15	28	7
Dala	DAL	Kano Central	24	45	11
Dambatta	DAM	Kano North	12	23	5
Dawakin Kudu	DKD	Wudil Zone	11	21	4
Dawakin Tofa	DKT	Kano North	9	18	4
Doguwa	DOG	Rano Zone	15	27	7
Fagge	FAG	Kano Central	23	44	10
Gabasawa	GAB	Kano North	11	22	5
Garko	GRK	Gaya Zone	10	20	4
Garun Mallam	GRM	Rano Zone	15	28	7
Gaya	GAY	Gaya Zone	14	26	6
Gezawa	GEZ	Kano North	12	23	5
Gwale	GWA	Kano Central	22	41	10
Gwarzo	GWZ	Kano South	9	18	4
Kabo	KAB	Kano South	15	27	7
Kano Municipal	MUN	Kano Central	23	44	10
Karaye	KAR	Kano South	11	22	5
Kibiya	KIB	Rano Zone	10	20	4
Kiru	KIR	Kano South	15	28	7
Kumbotso	KUM	Kano Central	24	45	11
Kunchi	KUN	Kano North	12	23	5
Kura	KUR	Rano Zone	11	21	4
Madobi	MAD	Kano South	9	18	4
Makoda	MAK	Kano North	15	27	7
Minjibir	MIN	Kano North	13	24	5
Nassarawa	NAS	Kano Central	22	42	10
Rano	RAN	Rano Zone	10	20	4
Rimin Gado	RMG	Kano South	15	28	7
Rogo	ROG	Kano South	14	26	5
Shanono	SHA	Kano South	12	23	5
Sumaila	SUM	Gaya Zone	11	21	4
Takai	TAK	Gaya Zone	9	18	4
Tarauni	TAR	Kano Central	24	46	11
Tofa	TOF	Kano North	13	24	5
Tsanyawa	TSA	Kano North	11	22	5
Tudun Wada	TDW	Rano Zone	10	20	4
Ungogo	UNG	Kano Central	25	47	11
Warawa	WAR	Wudil Zone	14	26	5
Wudil	WUD	Wudil Zone	12	23	5

What a centre must have to be accredited

Quality Assurance inspects against these criteria before every series. A school that fails on any of the first six is not accredited, whatever else it offers.

Halls seating candidates at least 1.2 metres apart, with no candidate able to read another's script
A lockable strongroom for question papers and scripts, with a steel door and a single keyholder
Daylight or reliable lighting in every hall, and a standby generator where light is used
Separate, working and clean sanitation for female and male candidates
A resident supervisor from outside the host school, appointed by the Ministry
One invigilator for every 25 candidates, none of whom teaches the subject being written
Drinking water available throughout the paper
A first-aid box, a named first-aider and the number of the nearest health facility
An accessible ground-floor hall, or a ramp, for a candidate with a mobility impairment
A separate quiet room for candidates granted special arrangements
A wall clock visible from every seat, and a bell or siren audible in every hall
A perimeter that can be controlled, with one gate open on the day of a paper

How a school becomes a centre

Accreditation runs each session on a published timetable. This session the inspection visits begin on Wed 16 September 2026.

The school applies through the education authority

A head teacher or principal applies on the school portal, stating the series, the expected number of candidates and the halls offered. The local government education authority countersigns and forwards the application to the zonal education office.

Quality Assurance inspects

A two-officer team visits unannounced within the accreditation window, measures the halls, tests the strongroom, checks sanitation, lighting, water and access, and reports against the twelve criteria. The team also reads the school's conduct record from the last two sessions.

The centre is graded and gazetted

A centre is graded A, B or C on capacity and facilities and given a centre number. Grade C centres take State series only. The list of accredited centres is published before the first paper and posted at every education authority.

Officers are appointed and trained

The Ministry appoints a supervisor from outside the host school, a chief invigilator and the invigilators, and trains them at the zonal education office in the week before the series. No officer serves at a centre where a relative is a candidate, and every officer signs a declaration to that effect.

Materials are delivered under escort

Question papers move from the State strongroom to the centre on the morning of each paper under police escort, and are held by the supervisor until the packet is opened in front of the candidates. Scripts return the same way the same day.

The centre is monitored and reported on

Ministry monitors, zonal officers and, for council series, council monitors visit centres unannounced during papers. The supervisor files a conduct report on every paper, and that report is the first document read if a result is later questioned.

Who is who at a centre

Six roles, each with a defined duty. A candidate with a problem raises it with the invigilator, who raises it with the supervisor.

Supervisor

Appointed by the Ministry

A senior officer from outside the host school who takes custody of the question papers, opens the packet before the candidates, controls the hall, decides on late admission and special arrangements, and files the conduct report for every paper. The supervisor, not the head teacher, is in charge on the day.

Chief invigilator

One per centre

Runs the seating plan, times the papers, briefs the invigilators before each session and counts scripts against the attendance register before the hall is released.

Invigilator

One to every 25 candidates

Circulates constantly in the hall, checks photo cards against faces, distributes and collects scripts, and reports any irregularity to the supervisor in writing rather than settling it in the hall.

Head of the host school

The school itself

Provides the halls, furniture, light, water, sanitation and security, and stays out of the conduct of the papers. A head teacher who enters a hall during a paper without the supervisor's leave is reported.

Ministry monitor

Unannounced visits

Visits centres during papers on behalf of the Directorate of Examinations, checks that the rules are being kept and has power to stop a paper and seal the scripts where conduct has broken down.

Security detail

Police and civil defence

Escorts question papers and scripts, controls the single open gate during papers, and keeps unauthorised persons — including parents and hawkers — outside the perimeter.

How a centre loses accreditation

Accreditation is withdrawn by the Director of Examinations on the report of a monitor, a supervisor or Quality Assurance. Withdrawal takes effect immediately and the centre's candidates are attached elsewhere.

Finding	Consequence	How long
Organised malpractice — answers supplied, papers opened early, scripts altered	Accreditation withdrawn and results for the centre cancelled; officers dismissed and referred for prosecution	Three sessions, then re-inspection
An unauthorised person in the hall during a paper	Accreditation withdrawn for the remainder of the series	The current session
Question papers not held in the strongroom, or the packet opened before the candidates are seated	Accreditation withdrawn; the paper is re-set for the affected candidates at the State's cost	Two sessions
Seating below the 1.2-metre standard, or candidates written in more than the declared halls	Accreditation suspended pending re-inspection	Until re-inspection passes
Sanitation, light or water not working on the day of a paper	Written improvement notice; suspension if not corrected before the next series	Until corrected
A candidate admitted without biometric enrolment or on another candidate's card	Accreditation suspended and the candidate's result withheld pending investigation	One session
A collection of money from candidates at the centre	Accreditation withdrawn, the money refunded and the officer concerned dismissed	Two sessions
Failure to file the supervisor's conduct report for a paper	Written warning to the centre; repeated failure suspends accreditation	Until the report is filed

Candidates with special needs

A candidate who is blind or partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing, physically disabled, chronically ill or has a specific learning difficulty is entitled to arrangements that remove the disadvantage without changing the standard of the paper. The arrangements are applied for by the school at entry, not on the morning of the paper, and are supported by a report from a government hospital, the school's special needs unit or the Directorate of Special and Inclusive Education.

Where a centre cannot provide an arrangement, the Ministry moves the candidate to one that can, usually the nearest special school or the zonal education office. Twelve special schools and 168 inclusive units in mainstream schools take candidates in this way each session, and there is no charge for any arrangement.

Extra time — 25 per cent as standard, more on a specialist report
A scribe, appointed by the Ministry and never a relative or the candidate's own teacher
A reader, or a question paper read once in full at the start
Large print, or a Braille paper prepared by the Ministry
A separate quiet room, with its own invigilator
A sign language interpreter for a deaf candidate
An accessible ground-floor hall, and rest breaks that do not count against the time
Prescribed medication and equipment at the desk, declared to the supervisor

Report a centre

If a centre is overcrowded, has no light or water, opens a packet early, admits people who should not be in the hall, or collects money from candidates, report it. Give the centre name and number, the local government area, the series, the date and the paper. Reports are taken in confidence and a candidate who reports in good faith is protected — no result is withheld because a candidate spoke up.

Telephone 0800 MOE KANO or +234 803 700 1420, email info@moe.kn.gov.ng, or call at the Directorate of Examinations, Assessment and Certification, Ministry of Education, Audu Bako Secretariat, Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. Monitors can reach any centre in the State within the day.

Questions about centres

How do I know which centre my child writes at?

The centre name and number are printed on the photo card the school issues before the series, and the head teacher confirms it again a week before the first paper. If the card shows a centre outside your local government area, tell the head teacher at once — that is not the standard and it is usually an error.

Can a candidate change centre?

Only on the written approval of the Director of Examinations, and only for a change of the family's residence, a documented medical need or an accessibility need the allotted centre cannot meet. Apply through the head teacher before the entry list closes. A change is not granted for convenience.

Why do some rural areas have so few senior certificate centres?

Because WASSCE and SSCE are written in senior secondary schools, and senior schools are fewer and more concentrated than primary schools. Common Entrance, by contrast, reaches every ward. Where an area has few senior centres its candidates are attached to the nearest accredited school and the education authority arranges transport for the days of the papers.

May a parent wait at the centre?

Not inside the perimeter. One gate is open on the day of a paper and it is controlled by the security detail. Wait outside, and do not attempt to pass anything to a candidate — a parent who does so has the candidate's series cancelled.

How are special arrangements applied for?

The school applies at entry, before the list closes, attaching the medical or specialist report. Arrangements cannot be granted on the morning of a paper because a scribe, a Braille paper or an interpreter has to be arranged in advance. There is no charge for any arrangement.

What happens if a centre is closed on the day by an emergency?

The supervisor seals the papers, reports to the Directorate immediately, and the candidates are re-scheduled at the nearest accredited centre. A paper that could not be written because of an emergency is re-set at the State's cost and no candidate is disadvantaged.

Applying to host a series?

Accreditation applications open with the entry list and inspection visits begin on Wed 16 September 2026. Apply through your local government education authority.

Examination timetable Contact the Examinations Unit