By Mercy Osajiugo

The National Examinations Council (NECO), said over 70 per cent of candidates who sat for the 2022 Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (SSCE) internal made credit in mathematics and English language.

The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of NECO, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, said this while announcing the results at its headquarters in Minna on Thursday.

According to him, the examinations have been adjudged by many stakeholders to be hugely successful in recent years.

Wushishi said that the results were released exactly 45 days after the examinations were taken.

The registrar said that certificates for 2022 SSCE (Internal) would be ready three months after the release of results, saying that schools had one month in which to submit complaints (if any).

He said that the number of candidates that registered for the examination was 1,209,703, with 636,327 males, representing 52.60 per cent and 573,376 females, representing 47.39 per cent.

The registrar said that 1,198,412, with 630,180 males representing 52.58 per cent and 568,232 females representing 47.41per cent of candidates actually sat for the examinations.

“The number of candidates with Special Needs is 1,031, with the breakdown as follows: 98 with albinism, 177 with autism, 574 with hearing impairment, and 107 visually impaired.

“The number of candidates who made Credit and above in English Language is 889,188 representing 74.89 per cent, number of candidates who made Credit and above in Mathematics is 929,140, representing 78.23 per cent.

“The number of candidates who made five Credits and above including English Language and Mathematics is 727,864, representing 60.74 per cent. When compared to 2021 SSCE (Internal) figures of 878,925 (71.64 per cent) there is a decrease of 10.9 per cent.

“The number of candidates who made five Credits and above irrespective of English Language and Mathematics is 1,011,457, representing 84.40 per cent. When compared to 2021 SSCE (Internal) figures of 1,153,716 (94.04 per cent), there is a decrease of 9.64 per cent,’’ he said.

On examination malpractice, Wushishi said that 13,594 candidates were involved in various forms of malpractice in 2022, representing 0.13 per cent.

He said that 20,003 cases of malpractice were recorded in 2021, representing 1.63 per cent.

According to him, the council has a long-standing tradition for zero tolerance for malpractice, as this is why the cases of malpractice dropped in 2022, compared to the figure recorded in 2021.

“Consequent upon the foregoing, four schools were recommended for de-recognition for two years due to their involvement in mass cheating.

“Also, 29 supervisors were blacklisted for various offences ranging from poor supervision, insult, aiding and abetting during the examinations.’’

He urged candidates to access their results on NECO website: www.neco gov.ng using their examination registration.

(NAN)