The National Examinations Council, NECO, on Monday, attributed its constraints in ensuring fair examinations in the country to poor infrastructure, surge in candidate enrollment, inadequate funding, examination malpractice and question paper leaks.
This is according to the Registrar NECO, Prof. Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi at a one-day retreat in Abuja
Wushishi stated that strong legislation can contribute to aligning Nigerian qualifications to international standards.
The Registrar said that NECO is committed to building a more robust and more equitable national assessment system in Nigeria that fosters educational excellence, however, the body has encountered a series of challenges.
Highlighting the challenges, Wushishi said factors like infrastructure constraints, the surge in candidate enrollment, inadequate funding, examination malpractice and question paper leaks contribute to the fallen standards of education.
He said “These challenges underscore the critical need for a comprehensive national examination law specifically regulating all aspects of examination in Nigeria.
“We lack such a law, relying instead on a patchwork of regulations across examination bodies and individual schools,this creates vulnerabilities in the system.”
Speaking further, the Registrar proposed a bill titled, “The Conduct of Examinations in Nigeria”, urging members of the National Assembly to look into it to “create a future where Nigerian examinations are fair and equitable.”