Education

Stop discrimination against NECO certificate, FG warns schools, agencies

THE Federal Government warned tertiary institutions and other agencies to desist from discriminating against certificates issued by the National Examination Council (NECO), saying such an act is tantamount to denigrating the Nation.

NECO was established in April 1999 by the Federal Government as an indigenous examination body in response to the national outcry for another public examination body in the country.

It came to break the monopoly of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) which had been conducting school examinations since 1952.

Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, was unhappy about complaints in some quarters that some tertiary institutions and agencies of government discriminate against NECO certificates during admissions and other purposes.

Sununu spoke at a briefing session with the leadership of NECO in Abuja, where the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, SAN, promised that the Ministry would resolve the transportation and other logistics challenges being faced by the Council.

The Minister of State said, that the National Examinations Council is the pride of the Nation and that everything humanly possible must be done to enable the Council to fulfil the mandate for which it was set up.

He used the occasion to warn any institution or establishment from discriminating against the NECO certificate, maintaining that such would amount to denigrating the Nation, a statement by the Director Press and Public Relations, Mr Ben. Bem Goong said.

Sununu insisted that the NECO certificate has all the requirements of National and international standards.

Prof. Tahir Mamman on his part said, the administration of President Bola Tinubu is problem-solving oriented and that he is ready to resolve all genuine challenges facing the sector within the limit of available resources and legal framework.

He reiterated the determination of his administration to confront head-on , the challenges facing the sector, calling on all hands to be on deck in the onerous task of Nation building, adding that education is too critical to be ignored.

Earlier in his presentation to the two Ministers, the NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim wushishi lamented over the logistics challenges facing the Council, especially during the conduct of its National Examinations.

He used thanked his colleagues, the Registrars of the Joint Admissions and Maticulations Board and the National Board for Technical Examinations, whom he said, have always assisted with transportation logistics during NECO National Examinations.

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