By Regina Abella
The National Examinations Council (NECO), has said some students were unable to sit for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), due to the inability of their schools to register them before closure of the registration portal.
A statement made available to newsmen by NECO’s Head of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani on Wednesday in Abuja, explained that all schools had adequate opportunity to register their students, peradventure they encountered any form of difficulty.
The statement noted that considering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Council had extended the duration for registration to 12 midnight of Friday, 21st August 2020, and ensured the extension was widely publicized through various platforms in order to accommodate late registration.
The statement reads: “The attention of National Examinations Council (NECO) has been drawn to complaints by some schools whose candidates are unable to sit for the on-going Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) that commenced on Monday, 24th August 2020.
“NECO wishes to state that adequate opportunity was provided well in advance for all schools to register their candidates. This was given that some schools and/or candidates may have faced difficulties in the course of the registrations.
“It is regrettable that despite these measures, some schools failed to complete the registration or enrollment processes. It is therefore instructive to restate that the closure of the Portal on the said date was not punitive or designed to undermine registrants and schools.
“It was however to allow the Council produce and distribute materials to Examination Centers for seamless conduct of the exercise.
“Consequently, NECO assures the public of its commitment to effective and efficient conduct of all examinations within its statutory mandates. In this regard, it will continue to engage all stakeholders as may be appropriate.”
