Understanding the Nigeria Grading System
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The Nigeria grading system for secondary education uses letter grades from A1 to F9, with A1 highest and F9 lowest; D8 is the minimum pass. Percentage equivalents are set out in an official key.
Regions set grading rules, with national coordination by the Federal Ministry of Education; the main school-leaving exam is the West African Senior School Certificate.
This page explains how to interpret Nigerian grades and how grading is administered. It also covers considerations for teaching Nigerian students online or abroad, related systems, and sources used to verify the information.
Reading the Nigerian scale
The Nigerian scale uses an official percentage key. In secondary education, D8 is the lowest passing grade, while F9 means fail. The minimum passing mark can vary with the year of graduation and the institution.
| Grade | Meaning | Passing | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Excellent | Yes | 75 to 100% |
| B2 | Very Good | Yes | 70 to 74% |
| B3 | Good | Yes | 65 to 69% |
| C4 | Credit | Yes | 60 to 64% |
| C5 | Credit | Yes | 55 to 59% |
| C6 | Credit | Yes | 50 to 54% |
| D7 | Pass | Yes | 45 to 49% |
| D8 | Pass | Yes | 40 to 44% |
| F9 | Fail | No | 0 to 39% |
Percent bands are set by the authority. Percent ranges are published with the national grading scale.
D8 is the lowest passing grade; F9 means fail.
At bachelor’s degree level, the grades and their meanings changed in 2018: a 40–44% result was a pass up to and including 2017, and is a fail since 2018. (WENR; Nuffic; wenr.wes.org)
Compared with related systems
Nigeria
8 of 9 grades pass
Australia
No pass mark
Canada
10 of 11 grades pass
How Nigerian school grading is run
Nigerian grading rules are set by regions and coordinated nationally by the Federal Ministry of Education, and practice differs somewhat between regions.
The Federal Ministry of Education and state governments are responsible for secondary education (WENR). The WAEC and NECO assess secondary education results with a letter grade; they usually use only grades, and 1 is the same as A1 (Nuffic).
If you teach Nigerian students online or abroad
Ask students to provide their report cards and transcripts, then check the grading key used on each document. Record the grades with that key and note any differences between documents.
Set the scale up once in a gradebook so every report card and transcript you produce uses the same key.
Related grading systems
Sources and verification
- [1]moebauchi.bu.gov.ng. Bece Result. Accessed Oct 10, 2026. Official source
- [2]fctubeb.gov.ng. FCTUBEB report card. Accessed Oct 10, 2026. Official source
- [3]nuffic.nl. Grades and study results | Nuffic. Accessed Oct 10, 2026. Credential evaluator
- [4]wenr.wes.org. Nigeria: Secondary Education - WENR. Accessed Oct 10, 2026. Credential evaluator
- [5]wenr.wes.org. EDUCATION IN NIGERIA. pdf. Accessed Oct 10, 2026. Credential evaluator
The facts on this page were last verified on Oct 17, 2026. Suggest a correction
Frequently asked questions
What is a passing grade in Nigeria?
For secondary education results assessed by WAEC and NECO, D8 is the lowest passing grade, and F9 is a fail. The percentage equivalents are given in an official key, and the minimum passing mark can vary by year of graduation and institution.
Do schools in Nigeria use percentages for grades?
Yes. Nigerian secondary education grades have percentage equivalents in an official key, such as C5 at 55–59%. WAEC and NECO usually report only the letter grades.
Is a C5 a good grade in Nigeria?
C5 is a Credit, with an official percentage range of 55–59% in the secondary education scale. Whether it is a good grade depends on the result you are comparing it with.
