NECO releases results

Dipo Laleye, Minna - 29.02.2008

The National Examination Council (NECO) on Thursday in Minna, Niger State, released the results of the 2007 November/December senior school certificate examination.

The results showed that of the 330,514 candidates that sat for the examination, 71,339 had credit in English Language.

It also showed that 55,803 had credit in Mathematics while 2,538 had distinction in English Language, Mathematics, Arabic, Hausa Igbo Language, Islamic Religious Studies and Economics.

Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of NECO, Professor Promise Okpalla, while announcing the results, said over 300 cases of malpractices were recorded during the examinatioin, saying that the organisation would re-screen the answer scripts of the affected candidates, after which those that scaled through would have their results released.

Professor Okpalla expressed regret that the standard of education was declining, adding that it was an indication that schools and parents must brace up as such a development would have negative effect on the country.

He said NECO was determined to make qualitative examination delivery its guiding principle but added that this would not be sacrificed on the alter of merit.

In the meantime, Professor Okpalla has said that candidates from Cross River State stopped sitting for NECO examination because of what he called “personality clash” among two unnamed personalities.

The registrar said the situation was affecting the students of the state origin who were being forced to sit for only one examination whereas their counterparts in other states were writing two examionations annually.

Okpalla said the refusal of the state to sit for the examination had nothing to do with the quality of certificates being issued by NECO, saying that the dispute would soon be resolved amicably between the two parties.