The National Examinations Council (NECO) has expanded its global presence to Burkina Faso, following the successful accreditation of schools to write the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the country.
The NECO Accreditation Team visited the schools to assess their readiness to write the SSCE and BECE.
A statement by the spokesperson of the council, Azeez Sani, noted that the accreditation team inspected classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computer laboratories, workshops, examination halls, sports facilities, continuous assessment (CA), as well as the adequacy of teachers and school security to determine their suitability and readiness for NECO examinations.
Sani said; “After a thorough evaluation and comprehensive assessment, the schools were granted full SSCE and BECE accreditation status.
“The accreditation of the schools in Burkina Faso is a testament to NECO’s commitment to providing quality education and assessment beyond the shores of Nigeria.”
According to him, with the expansion and global presence, NECO is poised to become a leading examination body in Africa, offering opportunities for Nigerian students and other foreign nationals worldwide to benefit from its expertise, thus contributing to the advancement of education in Africa and beyond.
It is worth recalling that NECO recently established an examination centre in London, United Kingdom, in addition to its existing centres in Togo, Benin Republic, Niger Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In a related development, the Ambassador of Nigeria to Burkina Faso, Ambassador M.D. Galadima, has commended NECO for expanding its global presence to Burkina Faso.
Galadima, who made the commendation during a courtesy visit by the NECO Accreditation Team to the Nigerian Embassy in Ouagadougou, disclosed that Nigerian parents in Burkina Faso had long faced challenges due to differences in the educational system and the lack of English-based schools in the country.
“Previously, parents had to take their children to Saki, Oyo State to register and write the examination, exposing students and parents to security risks during travel and placing a heavy financial burden on families and school proprietors.
“The accreditation of schools in Burkina Faso will help eliminate such risks and financial burden on both the parents and school owners,” he said.
Galadima urged the Nigerian community in Burkina Faso to key into the opportunity provided by NECO by registering their children for the SSCE and BECE.
The leader of the NECO Accreditation Team, Dr Uche Ezenwanne, said the accreditation of schools in Burkina Faso would provide an opportunity for Nigerian students resident in the country to write both SSCE and BECE without travelling back to Nigeria.
This he said would thereby strengthen NECO’s position as Africa’s foremost examination body.