NECO insists registration for SSCE ends June 25

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has said the June 25 deadline for the registration of the 2021 senior school certificate examination (SSCE) for internal candidates remains sacrosanct.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the examination body and signed by its head of information and public relations division, Azeez Sani, urged relevant stakeholders including states’ education ministries, school owners and managers, among others, to ensure strict compliance.

The statement reads in part; “The National Examinations Council (NECO) will not extend the registration period for the 2021 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) for school based candidates.

“The registration exercise which started on March 31, will close on Friday, June 25, 2021 and will not be subjected to extension, while the examination will commence unfailingly on Monday, July 5, 2021.”

NECO said the decision is to enable efficient and effective planning for the examination logistics, which it noted are required for the smooth conduct of the examination.

The statement urged the stakeholders to ensure timely completion of their candidates’ registration.

“The Council assures all stakeholders of its resolve to have a seamless conduct of the 2021 SSCE,” Mr Sani wrote.

About NECO

Established in April, 1999 by the administration of the former head of state, Abdulsalami Abubakar, NECO was a product of long years of agitations for the creation of a national examination body to “ease the growing burden of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).”

WAEC, as a regional examination body, was said to be carrying heavy burden and that the increasing number of Nigerians seeking to sit the senior secondary school certificate examination, and the alleged poor capacity of WAEC to handle the situation efficiently, led to the birth of NECO.

It is headquartered in Minna, Niger State capital and homestate of Mr Abubakar.

The examination body suffered a lot of teething problems which led to rejection of its results by some institutions until the government issued a strong directive.

The problems may not be over yet as the issue of poor management has continued to rock the examination body.

Barely one year after the former registrar and chief executive officer of the exammination body, Charles Nwakwe, was sacked from office by President Muhammadu Buhari over corruption allegations, his successor, Godswill Obioma, who was also accused of mismanagement and recklessness, recently died after a brief illness.

The examination council has, however, appointed the director of special duties, Ebikibina Ogborodi, as an acting registrar.