By Daniel Edu
The Registrar and Chief Executive of the National Examination Council (NECO), Prof. Dantani Wushishi, has disclosed that several state governments owe the examination body a total of N5.5 billion in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) fees. However, he refrained from naming the specific states in debt, noting that some have made commitments to pay their outstanding fees.
Wushishi made this announcement during the release of the 2023 Senior School Certificate Examination results. He also reported that 61% of the candidates who sat for the examination scored five credits, including English and Mathematics.
The registrar explained that this debt was accumulated between 2012 and 2023 as a result of state governments taking responsibility for the registration of their indigent students scheduled to take the examination.
He called on the states to expedite the settlement of their debts and warned that NECO would not release the results of candidates from debtor states until the outstanding fees are paid.
Wushishi emphasized the need for states with poor exam performance to reevaluate their education sectors and make improvements across all educational domains. He noted that Abia State and the Federal Capital Territory were the top-performing states, followed by Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, and Anambra.
In the 2023 SSCE examination, 1,296,985 candidates participated, with 616,398 being male candidates and 580,587 being female candidates, as reported by NECO.
Discussion about this post