Closure Of BECE Registration Portal Is Not Punitive – NECO

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has reacted to the criticism triggered by the closure of the registration portal for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

BECE is an annual examination conducted by NECO for students in class three of the Junior Secondary School (JSS3).

Some school authorities had raised concerns over the failure of their candidates to sit for the ongoing examination which began on Monday.

In his reaction, NECO’s Head of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani, in a statement on Wednesday said adequate opportunities were provided well in advance for all schools to register their candidates.

He explained that this was given that some schools and candidates may have faced difficulties in the course of the registrations.

Sani stated that as a result of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Council extended the duration for registration to 12 midnight of Friday last week.

“The extension was widely publicised through various platforms. The aim was largely to accommodate late registration.

“It is regrettable that despite these measures, some schools failed to complete the registration or enrollment processes,” he said.

The NECO spokesman added, “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 centres for seamless conduct of the exercise.“

The NECO spokesman stressed that the examination body was committed to the effective and efficient conduct of all examinations within its statutory mandates.

He, however, gave an assurance that the Council would continue to engage all stakeholders in the most appropriate ways.

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