Kuni Tyessi in Abuja 

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.

NECO accreditation team visited the schools to assess their readiness to write SSCE and BECE. 

In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Azeez Sani, the accreditation team inspected classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computer laboratories, workshops, examination halls, sport facilities, continuous assessment (CA), as well as adequacy of teachers and school security to determine their adequacy, suitability and readiness for NECO examinations.

It 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,” it said.

NECO had recently established examination centre in London, United Kingdom, in addition to the existing centres in Togo, Benin Republic, Niger Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Cote’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 for long faced challenges due to the differences in educational system and the lack of English-based schools in the country. 

He said: “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 heavy financial burden on families and school proprietors.”

The ambassador noted that the accreditation of schools in Burkina Faso will help eliminate such risks and financial burden on both the parents and school owners.

He urged the Nigerian community in Burkina Faso to key into the opportunity provided by NECO by registering their children for the SSCE and BECE. 

Earlier, the leader of the NECO accreditation team, Dr. Uche Ezenwanne, said the accreditation of schools in Burkina Faso will provide opportunity for Nigerian students resident in the country to write both SSCE and BECE without travelling back to Nigeria, thereby strengthening NECO’S position as Africa’s foremost examination body. 

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