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Oct 17, 2024

Minister of Education Clarifies Controversial 18-Year Age Limit for University Admissions in Nigeria

The Federal Government plans to create guidelines for the 18-year age limit on university admissions, aiming to clarify the policy and address exceptions for exceptionally intelligent students. Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, emphasized that this age limit does not apply to WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, or other ordinary-level exams.

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Mar 15, 2024

NECO postpones 2024 staff promotion exam indefinitely

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has indefinitely postponed its 2024 staff promotion exam. The promotion exercise had earlier been scheduled to hold on February 14 and 15 in Minna, Niger state.

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Jan 31, 2024

NECO boosts measures to tackle 2023 SSCE exams malpractices

Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, registrar and chief executive of the National Examination Council (NECO), has reaffirmed the readiness of the council to tackle examination malpractice in the ongoing 2023 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) for external candidates.

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Jan 23, 2024

74,000 Candidates Register For 2023 NECO External SSCE

No fewer than 74,819 candidates are participating in the ongoing 2023 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) organised by the National Examinations Council (NECO) for External candidates nationwide.

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Nov 6, 2023

NECO releases 2023 SSCE results

The National Examinations Council (NECO) on Tuesday released the results of the 2023 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). Speaking at a press conference in Minna, the Niger State capital, NECO Registrar Dantani Wushishi, a professor, described this year’s result as the best in recent times.

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Oct 31, 2023

Ogun Govt Monitors 2023 SSCE, Promises More Interventions In Schools

The Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Education, Science and Technology, has reiterated the commitment of Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration to further embark on tremendous infrastructural interventions in schools.

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Sep 18, 2023

NECO 2023 marking begins, to release results end of September

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has commenced marking its 2023 school-based senior secondary certificate examination(SSCE) scripts.

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Sep 5, 2023

NECO registers over 1.2m candidates for 2023 SSCE

The National Examinations Council (NECO) says over 1.2 million candidates registered for the ongoing 2023 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

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Jul 13, 2023

FG, NECO bans underage from Common Entrance Examination

The Federal Government has banned underage children from participating in the National Common Entrance Examination for admission into Unity Schools across the country. It also directed the National Examinations Council (NECO) to put strict measures in place to prevent underage persons from registering for the examination, including making birth certificates compulsory as a registration requirement.

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Jul 12, 2023

WAEC announces date for commencement of 2023 examination

The 2023 school-based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will hold for seven weeks, spanning 8 May to 23 June.

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Jul 7, 2023

NECO reschedules national entrance examination, reveals new date

The National Examinations Council, NECO, has rescheduled the 2023 entrance examination for gifted and talented children into Federal Government Academy in Suleja.

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Jul 7, 2023

Nigeria Lawmakers to make NECO compulsory

A bill for an Act to Repeal the National Examinations Council (NECO) Act 2004, has passed second reading on the floor of the house of Representatives.

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May 25, 2023

WAEC Sanctions 13 Secondary Schools in Nigeria Over Exams Malpractice

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has sanctioned 13 Secondary Schools in Gombe State over cases of examination malpractice. The director of examinations in the Gombe State Ministry of Education, Ali Yaya, disclosed this during a meeting with principals of secondary schools in the state.

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Mar 10, 2023

NECO examination malpractices hinder success of students, discredit certificates

The Registrar said examination malpractices have the tendency to discourage hard work among serious students, lowers educational standards, discredit certificates, and lead to the production of quacks.

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Jan 4, 2023

WAEC releases WASSCE result, records 76.36% pass

The statistics represent a decrease of more than five per cent in performance when compared with the 81.7 per cent pass rate recorded in 2021.

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Dec 27, 2022

NECO of Nigeria releases 2022 SSCE results

National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the 2022 Senior Secondary Schools Certificate (SSCE), with candidates recording over 10 percent decrease in overall performance compared with that of last year.

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Dec 19, 2022

Nigeria to Partner with Morocco to Advance Vocational Training

Nigeria’s National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has reported plans to partner with Morocco to promote a capacity-building approach among Nigerian youth.

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Nov 3, 2022

Over 1,200,000 candidates sit for NECO in Nigeria

The Registrar of the National Examinations Council, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, has said a total of 1,209,000 candidates are sitting the 2022 Senior School Certificate Examination.

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Jul 26, 2022

WAEC set to release withheld results, punishes offenders

Earlier in November 2021, WAEC had announced that the results of 170,146 candidates were withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.

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Nigeria

Overview

Nigeria is located on the West Coast of Africa and it is the most populous state in Africa. Ethnic and religious differences have led to much instability.

Through the 19th Century, European traders established colonies for traffic in the slave trade. the British expanded trade in Nigeria and in 1901 Nigeria became a British Protectorate. The influence of the British system of government can be seen in the structure of the educational system. However, in recent years, the educational system has acquired some characteristics of the American educational system.

Nigeria obtained independence from Britain in 1960. For most of its years of independence, Nigeria has been under military rule. However, in 1999 a new constitution was adopted and there is now a civilian government. During the military rule, there were many riots and strikes which led to a decline in the educational system.

At the present time, Nigeria is encouraging the establishment of private universities. A National Universities Commission has been established to accredit private universities and oversee programs at Federal and State national universities.

Primary and Secondary Education

Nigeria’s educational system previously followed the British 6+5+2 pattern. After 6 years of primary education and 5 years of secondary education, students completed their Ordinary Level or O Level examinations. Students could choose to do an additional 2 years of study, which led to the Advanced Level or A Level exams. Both were awarded by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) at the time. Students with a minimum of 5 O Level subject passes were eligible for university admission, whereas those with a minimum of 2 A Level subject passes were eligible for direct entry into year two of university study.

With the introduction of the Senior School Certificate in 1988, Nigeria changed to a 6+3+3 system of primary and secondary education. Specifically, 6 years of primary education are followed by 3 years of lower secondary education. Upper secondary education, or senior secondary education, is also 3 years. Upon successful completion, students now earn the West African Senior School Certificate (WASSC) from WAEC, or the Senior School Certificate from the National Examinations Council (NECO).

Students may purchase a scratch card or a PIN that allow users to verify the results on the websites of WAEC and NECO, respectively. Since the end of 2022, WAEC has also introduced a Digital Certificate platform for Nigerian students, allowing for the issue of the WASSCE directly to recipients in digital form.

Post Secondary Education

There are both Federal and State institutions of higher education in Nigeria. The Federal institutions tend to be better funded. Entry into university requires the Universities Matriculation Examination offered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Grades of 200/400 are required for passing. Bachelors degree programs generally last 4 years (3 years for students with good General Certificate of Education “Advanced” levels). Medicine and Dentistry are 6 year courses and some professional degrees, such as Engineering and Architecture, may be 5 years. Graduate degrees include the Masters degrees, 1 to 2 years in duration, and the Doctorate degree, usually 2 to 3 years in duration.

Diplomas

Students may also receive a Diploma or Advanced Diploma from departments of universities in Nigeria. Admission requirements to the Diploma course are different from those required for regular undergraduate students. These students are not required to take the admission examination (JAMB), and are often acquiring the Diploma for employment purposes. However, students with exceptional grades on the Diploma course may be admitted to the second year of undergraduate study at universities in Nigeria. The Advanced Diploma is also often obtained for employment purposes. Students with the Advanced Diploma are generally admitted to the second year of university study at universities in Nigeria.

The Nursing Council of Nigeria also offers a 3 year nursing diploma and a one year diploma in Midwifery.

Teacher Training

Nigeria also has a variety of non-university, post-secondary education. Technical colleges and polytechnics offer the National Diploma and the Higher National Diploma. Teacher training colleges, which are not university level, previously offered the Grade II Teacher's Certificate and the Nigerian Certificate of Education. The Grade II Certificate was previously required for teaching in primary school, but now the Nigerian Certificate of Education is the minimum requirement. Teachers with the Nigerian Certificate of Education may be admitted to the second year or the third year of a Bachelor of Education degree program, depending on grades received.


THE CONTRIBUTORS
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Emily Tse

Senior Director of Knowledge Management at CGFNS International

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