The National Examinations Council (NECO) has broadened its international reach to Burkina Faso following the successful accreditation of schools to conduct the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
A NECO accreditation team visited the schools to evaluate their preparedness for the examinations. During the assessment, the team inspected classrooms, libraries, laboratories, computer labs, workshops, examination halls, sports facilities, security structures, and assessed the adequacy of teachers and continuous assessment (CA) records to ensure full compliance with NECO standards.
After a detailed and comprehensive review, the schools were granted full accreditation to host both SSCE and BECE examinations.
The approval of these schools in Burkina Faso highlights NECO’s commitment to delivering quality assessment services beyond Nigeria’s borders. This expansion follows the recent establishment of a NECO examination centre in London, joining existing centres in Togo, Benin Republic, Niger Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, and Saudi Arabia.
In a related development, the Nigerian Ambassador to Burkina Faso, M.D. Galadima, commended NECO for extending its operations into the country. During a courtesy visit from the NECO Accreditation Team to the Nigerian Embassy in Ouagadougou, the Ambassador noted that Nigerian parents had long faced challenges due to differences in educational systems and the limited availability of English-based schools in Burkina Faso.
He explained that, previously, parents were compelled to travel to Saki, Oyo State, for their children to register and sit for NECO exams—an arrangement that posed security risks and imposed significant financial strain on families and school proprietors.
According to Ambassador Galadima, the accreditation of schools in Burkina Faso will greatly reduce such risks and ease financial burdens. He encouraged the Nigerian community in the country to take full advantage of the opportunity by registering their children for the SSCE and BECE.
Reporting by Patience Olumati