This paper presents research designed to study the West African Examination Council's (WAEC) policy and its impact on teaching chemistry in Nigerian secondary schools. Five knowledgeable public figures in Nigeria and Great Britain were interviewed concerning policy formulation and implementation. Five pertinent documents were analyzed. Ethnographic methods were used to develop the case study. A database was developed from field-notes, data from interviews, and questionnaires administered to education officials, chemistry teachers, school administrators, and students. The interview data yielded salient information about the operation of WAEC in West Africa and Nigeria, compared with that of the University of London School Examinations Board (ULSEB) in England. Two main differences were observed: (1) the strong influence of the African government on WAEC's operation, whereas, the ULSEB is not influenced by the British government; and (2) the issue of security, which has led to examination leakages in African states. Implications and conclusions drawn from the study include the need to: develop strategies to improve organizational communication in the Nigerian centralized educational system; and (2) improve preservice training of chemistry teachers to make them more effective communicators of scientific information. (CW)