Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of NECO, Professor Promise Okpala

By Aisha Wakaso

After five consecutive years of mass failure, the National Examinations Council (NECO) Thursday announced an improvement  of students in its June/July 2012 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

NECO said over 50 per cent of the candidates who sat for examination recorded credit pass in Mathematics while 49.33 per cent of the 1,087,627 candidates passed English Language with credit.

Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Professor Promise Okpala, announced the improvement in the results yesterday at the NECO headquarters in Minna, saying that 13 schools in seven states across the federation had been blacklisted for gross examination malpractices for the next two years.

Okpala said in Mathematics, out of the 1,124,879 that sat for the subject 567,011, representing 50. 41 per cent passed at credit level and 418,351, representing 37.19 per cent had passes, while in English Language 554,884 candidates representing 49.33 per cent passed at credit level, and 478,605, representing 42.55 per cent had passes.

Similarly, other core subject areas, including, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, and others also recorded significant improvements.

When compared with the 2011 performance rate, Okpala said only 22.34 per cent recorded credit pass in English Language, while 25.14 per cent made similar credit pass in Mathematics and paltry one per cent of the candidates that sat for the examination made credit level in Biology.

The registrar attributed the improved performance of candidates in the just concluded examination to the Federal Government reforms in the education sector. The registrar noted that for sustainable improvement, all stake holders
“Must put up efforts at assisting in the education reforms.
“We have always said our reforms will take years to manifest, the result is what we are seeing today. All stakeholders should not relax for continuous improvement. We should be focused in our responsibilities. We are making progress, but the journey is still far,” Okpala advised.

He however lamented that despite efforts at curtailing examination malpractices, some candidates and schools still indulge in the nefarious activity, compelling the council to blacklist 13 schools in Anambra, Cross Rivers, Rivers, Imo, Kano, Benue and Nasarawa.