The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NECO

  • Exam malpractices: FG charges Adeleke, four others

    The Federal Government has charged Senator Ademola Adeleke (Osun West) and four others before the Federal High Court, Abuja for allegedly engaging in examination malpractices.

    Adeleke and others were accused, in a four-count charge filed in the name of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of fraudulently, through personation, registering as students of Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School, Ojo-Aro Osun State to enable them sit for the National Examination Council (NECO) examination of June/July 2017.

    Read Also: Alleged N17.3b debt: Court blocks INEC’s funds with CBN

    Named with Adeleke, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/156/2018, are: Sikiru Adeleke, Alhaji Aregbesola Mufutau (Principal of the school), Gbadamosi Thomas Ojo (school Registrar) and Dare Samuel Olutope (teacher).

    They are to be arraigned on October 31 before Justice I. E. Ekwo.

  • FG to commence N5000 cash transfer through NIPOST

    The Federal government said it would soon commence the payment of N5000 to vulnerable poor Nigerians in three states,  using the newly introduced financial services  of  the Nigeria Postal Services (NIPOST) for the cash transfer .

    The government said the package is  under the present administration’s  social welfare programme to help the  poor and the needy in the society .

    Under the new contract, NIPOST is expected  to dispense the N5,000 cash to the poor in three states including Nasarawa, Benue and Anambra .

    The Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST , Barrister Bisi Adegbuyi made the disclosure  in Oyo town at the occasion of 2018 World Post Day celebration.

    He said NIPOST was able to win the contract due to its innovative programme and use of technology to advance its services to the people across the country.

    He said ” For instance, the National Cash Transfer Office which caters for the vulnerable, the poor  in the society awarded NIPOST the job to transfer cash to the poor . They give them N5000, every month, and because NIPOST has transformed and leveraging on technology , we were  awarded  the cash disposal of N5000 in Benue, Nasarawa and Anambra . Who are we serving , we are serving the poor , the post is ready to deliver the goods to bring happiness .”

    Present at the celebration are the Alaafin of Oyo , Oba Lamidi Adeyemi represented by the retired archbishop of Methodist Church Nigeria,  Ayo Ladigbolu , the Postmaster of the Federation, Barrister Bisi Adegbuyi, the Managing Director of Wema  Bank, Mr. Ademola Adebise , former Chairman of First Bank PLC, Rev. Akinboboye, NIPOST Zonal Manager , Mrs Ekeleme Kristie and Vice Chairman, Oyo East Local Government, Hon. Wahab Tajudeen .

    Others included top security chiefs, school children, artisans and officials of Wema Bank and Keystone bank.

    The Postmaster General in his speech informed the gathering that the present administration led by President Mohammadu Buhari has embarked on people oriented programme to improve the social welfare of the vulnerable poor in the country.

    Read Also: We still exist, says Abia NIPOST

    Speaking further on the 2018 World  Post Day with the theme ” The Post: Delivering good to the world” , Adegbuyi said ”  Its not just a question of NIPOST alone World Post Day is celebrated in 192 countries that belong to Universal Postal Union to bring to the fore the achievement of Post in the past year the agenda they have set for them in terms of renovation and all the likes.”

    He further disclosed that NIPOST in its transformation drive has commenced financial services and e-banking to bring financial services to the rural people across the country.

    ”  But why we are here today is to flag off our agency banking in partnership with We a bank and Keystone bank. What is agency banking? It is aimed at bringing basic financial services to the people in semi urban areas and rural area. The financially excluded, the un-banked , the under- bank . They have been estimated to be around 41 percent of adults in Nigeria .

    ” It is also in line with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations . Governance is not for the rich but for the poor who live in the rural areas . Our people , artisans, women, men, laborers and others should have access to basic financial banking services.We are here to demonstrate to Nigerians that NIPOST has moved beyond mere letter delivery . We are going to financial services, you members of the press have seen it when we demonstrated account opening procedure where you can paid in deposit , you can do withdraw, how you can pay utility bills ,WAEC, NECO .

    “We also demonstrated that our E-money is ready. We must leverage on technology that trendy everywhere, that is enabling Post Offices who are ready to subscribe to 21st century postal administration.
    We are just flagging it off . This is the first location , we will move from one location to the other . Nigeria is a massive country with 180million people . Its a gradual process,” he said.

    Earlier, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi commended NIPOST for its giant strides in recent years, describing the event as very significant in the history of the agency.

    Speaking through his representative , Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu , Oba Adeyemi said NIPOST has remained the only agency that has continued to connect the people , facilitating communication and enabling the people to stay in touch.

    ” But it has gone beyond that limit , today your money is save if you send it through NIPOST . It is a great pleasure to continue to identify and relate with NIPOST ,” the royal father said.

  • NECO releases June/July 2018 SSCE result

    The National Examinations Council (NECO) has released the June/July 2018 Senior Secondary Schools result, a statement issued on Monday in Minna said.

    The Acting Registrar, Alhaji Abubakar Gana, said in the statement that 1,041,536 candidates registered, while 1,032,729 candidates actually sat for the examination.

    Gana said that 939,733 candidates representing 90.47 per cent scored five credits and above without English and Mathematics.

    He also said that 875, 464 candidates, representing 84.77 per cent scored credits in English Language while 850,331 candidates representing 82.34 per cent, scored credits in mathematics.

    Furthermore, he said that a total of 742,455 candidates representing 71.48 per cent scored five credits and above including English language and Mathematics.

    Gana said that in 2017, 70.85 per cent of the candidates had five credits and above including in English and Mathematics as against 71.48 per cent in 2018, showing 0.63 per cent improved performance in the current result.

    According to him, a total of 20,181 candidates were involved in examination malpractice — 3,269 candidates in mathematics and 2,177 candidates in English Language.

    He decried the fact that 838 candidates were absent from the examinations, yet had answer scripts.

  • NECO Releases June/July SSCE Results

    The National Examination Council ( NECO ) on Monday released the 2018 June/July Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) with 71.48 per cent of the students obtaining five Credit Pass and above including English Language and Mathematics.

    Announcing the release of the results on Monday in Minna, the acting Registrar, Abubakar Mohammed Gana said that there is a 0.63 per cent improvement in the general performance of candidates in 2018 as compared with 2017.

    Read Also: Niger owes WAEC, NECO N664M

    According to him, 875,464 out of 1,032,729 candidates which represents 84.77 per cent that sat for the examination in Nigeria and other countries got five credits and above while 84.54 per cent got credit pass and above in English Language and 850,331 candidates representing 82.34 per cent obtained credit pass and above in Mathematics.

    Gana said that 20,181 malpractice cases were detected observing that there were over 7,960 cases of candidates copying from foreign materials while Mathematics was the most cheated subject followed by English Language.

  • Niger owes WAEC, NECO N664m

    Niger State government State said on Monday it is owning two major examination bodies in the country – the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) – N664 million.

    The state Commissioner of Education, Hajiya Fatima Magudu, said the debt was inherited by the government from previous administrations in the state.

    The Nation had reported that students in the state public schools have not been able to access their WEAC results due to debts owed to the examination body.

    Students and parents have besieged the WAEC office in Minna, demanding reasons why the results were not accessed and they were directed to the state Ministry of Education for explanations.

    However, the commissioner said N5million had been given to WAEC to offset this year’s bill to enable the students access their results.

     

  • WAEC, NECO urged not to compromise standard

    The Chairman, Board of Governors, JEXTOBAN Secondary School, Lagos, Pastor Emmanuel Ojo, has urged the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) not to compromise standard.

    Ojo, who spoke at the weekend at the 20th valedictory service and graduation ceremony of the school in Ketu, Lagos, with the theme: “Greater Heights”, said the bodies should tackle malpractices.

    He said they should improve the standard they have set.

    “WAEC and NECO should not compromise standard. We at JEXTOBAN have zero tolerance for examination malpractices.

    “We ensure that our pupils prepare very well for examinations. This country will only be great if youths, who are tomorrow’s leaders, are taught to be honest.

    “Parents have a lot to do. They should monitor their children and pay impromptu visits to their schools, to find out whether they are on the right path,” Ojo said.

    According to him, “this year’s event is significant because we are presenting our first set of graduating pupils from JEXTOBAN Secondary School, Ibafo, Ogun State. We are also celebrating the 20th valedictory service and graduation ceremony of JEXTOBAN Secondary School, Ketu, Lagos.”

    The cleric advised the graduating pupils to eschew vices and be of good character.

    He said they should practise the morals they have learnt at the school.

    The Chairman, Editorial Board, ThisDay, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, enjoined the graduating pupils to strive for excellence and be godly.

    He said:” You should behave well and dress properly. Be good ambassadors of JEXTOBAN, a value-driven secondary school. You should be wary of the kind of comments and photos you post on Facebook. Negative pictures and comments on the social media will affect you in future.”

  • NECO thriving despite challenges

    After three years in the saddle, the Registrar, National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof Charles Uwakwe, has been credited with setting the examining body well on the path of international reckoning.

    Since assumption of office in April 2015, Uwakwe has introduced measures that have touched on all areas of operations of the Council needing improvement – from expansion of facilities and review of registration processes to prioritizing staff welfare and prompt payment of allowances to examiners and supervisors.

    The Professor of Counseling and Educational Psychology will forever be remembered as the one who successfully connected the Minna headquarters of the Council to the national grid thereby saving NECO millions of money spent on alternative power supply in the past seven years.

    Uwakwe also constructed an administrative building and provided solar street lights at the Council’s headquarters to improve security at night. NECO’s development has not only been felt in Minna but also extended to some of NECO’s state offices spread across the nation.  While the Council secured accommodation for some states others were renovated and got perimeter fences.

    Regarding staff welfare, Uwakwe has not been lagging behind.  Having set a high expectation for workers of the council to meet through the 10 Ethos (professionalism, service delivery, Punctuality/timeliness, Client Satisfaction, Precise and Accurate information, Good Attitude, Integrity, Commitment, Zero Tolerance for impunity and Excellence) he introduced, Uwakwe has also ensured their needs are taken care of.

    For instance, the Registrar has ensured payment of salaries and allowances are prompt; conducted two promotion exercises praised for their transparency, and entrenched fairness and equity into posting of workers for out of state assignments.

    Under his watch, the Council has also made provision for staff accommodation for workers in many states across the country.  NECO staff accommodation exist in Lagos, Delta, Rivers, Cross Rivers Enugu, Bauchi, and Kano.

    Uwakwe said making workers comfortable was a way to maintain their integrity.  Ad-hoc workers engaged for special assignments are also given their dues on time, resulting in the Council having well motivated people ready to carry out its assignments professionally.

    Regarding NECO’s core mandate, which is to conduct public examinations like the National Common Entrance Examination; Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), Uwakwe has ensured that results are released on time.

    Apart from introducing a new syllabus for BECE syllabus and a new grading format in the 20l7 edition of the examination, the Council was able to accredit and re-accredit schools for BECE and SSCE last year.

    Other achievements include: Printing and distribution of outstanding SSCE and BECE Certificates up to year 2014; combating and reducing examination malpractice in all NECO examinations; successful conduct of sensitization workshops on offline-online examination registration procedure for relevant stakeholders; seamless migration from strictly online registration procedure to offline-online procedure in January 2017; successful conduct of 2016, 2017, and 2018 Trial Testing of test items using Senior Secondary School Students selected from the six geo-political zones.

    NECO under Uwakwe has also ensured the prompt payment of Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) to officers on out of station assignments; Prompt payment of honorarium to examiners. supervisors, external monitors and other ad-hoc staff; Successful conduct of in-house training workshop on the use of some ltem Response Theory (lRT) Software in partnership with Institute of Education. University of lbadan in August 20l 7; sponsorship of staff to National and lntemational Conferences on Educational Assessment; gradual but steady Improvement in remittances to Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) since 2016 to date.

    Uwakwe also successfully established three additional Departments and a Directorate in the office of the Registrar/Chief Executive in October 2016 namely the Psychometrics Department, Information and communication Technology (1CT) Department and General Services Department, as well as the Office of the Director Special Duties, Office of the Registrar Chief Executive.

    These feats have been achieved despite challenges facing the council including insufficient capital allocation; delay in release of appropriated funds; non-settlement of debts by some State Governments; inadequate/obsolete ICT facilities; inadequate teachers in some subject areas; inadequate warehouses nationwide for examination materials; among other which Uwakwe is still hoping the Council would overcome.

     

  • Foundation to pay NECO fees for footballers

    Vandor Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has offered to pay the National Examination Commission (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) fees of players of Right Football Academy of Mainland and Greater Tomorrow FC of Apapa.

    Both teams made the finals of the maiden Jandor Foundation U-14 Cup soccer tournament held last month.

    The foundation’s Chairman, Olajide Adediran said its priority would be education, but he decided to sponsor the football competition to give talented youths opportunity to exhibit their skills.

    “Let me assure you that Jandor Foundation is not jettisoning sponsoring education by taking this competition. What we are doing is to say that in all sectors of the economy or what you have chosen to do, have education and there is a way we can also promote that. This is to further show that we are not just here to play football and catch these boys young, we are also passionate about their tomorrow, that is their future which we believe education will play a pivotal role.

    “As a result of this, aside from the presentation of cheques, I am on behalf of the BOT and advisory board announcing that both the winner and first runner up, Jandor Foundation have decided to sponsor your education, if the state will be paying for your WAEC, we will take up the NECO.

    “The central coordinator of Jandor Foundation will take details and we are going to ensure that this is done. We will take your details and any time you attain that age of obtaining NECO, be rest assured that it has already been taken care of, congratulations,” he said.

    Right FA defeated Greater Tomorrow 3-0 in the final to win the trophy and N150,000 cash prize.  Greater Tomorrow got a smaller trophy ad N100,000.  In the third place match, Zamadek FC of Agege won N50,000 for beating Soccer City 4-2.

  • NECO to remit N1.2b to Govt’s account, says registrar

    NECO to remit N1.2b to Govt’s account, says registrar

    National Examination Council (NECO) Registrar Prof. Charles Uwakwe said yesterday the agency will remit N1.2 into the Federation Account this year.

    Uwakwe, who stated this in a statement in Abuja, said the agency remitted N820 million in two years to the Federal Government.

    According to him, N500 million and N320 million was remitted to the government in 2016 and 2017. Uwakwe said the National Assembly has urged the agency to improve on its remittance to the Federal Government.

    To achieve this, he said, the agency has started making efforts to improve on the management of its resources.

    He said: “We have a mandate to do this therefore. We should be managing the resources that we have very prudently and there is also a bit of pressure on us to be remitting to Federation Account, which we are very cognisant of.”

  • Secret recruitment in NECO

    SIR: Just like Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Department of State Security (DSS) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) employment saga, the National Examination Council (NECO), with headquarters in Minna, Niger State is engulfed with another secret and privileged employment saga to family members, friends, and associates and by extension cronies and godfathers.

    This is not the Nigeria we expected to see understand President Muhammadu Buhari. He needs to stamp his authority on people who holds sway in these Ministries, Department and Agencies. Is it they don’t care about what was promised to Nigerians by the governing APC?

    A check on the examination body will reveal that the secret employment saga has been a yearly “December ritual” in the last few years. Unfortunately, such placement to fill in existing vacancies has been limited to children of the high and mighty since the coming of the present administration and, largely due to lack of coordination, respect for due process and fairness.

    Worst still, no one has been punished or sanctioned for the irresponsible and reckless disregard to the laws governing placement or employment in public service. These things ought to be advertised in any of the national dailies to give Nigerians the privilege to apply if they so desired. Only if that is done would the process adjudged fair even at that, only few would make it. Everyone is now familiar with the injustices that characterise such process in today’s Nigeria.

    Only such information like selling of examination and result cards are made to the public while other vital information that can impact on the lives of Nigerians are shrouded in SECRECY. Shame!

    It is my hope that concerned officials would be mindful of injustice, unfairness and gross disregard for due process. Meanwhile, I expect that heads would, by now start rolling.

     

    • Abdullahi Yusuf Kuta,

    Minna.