The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the National Examinations Council, Prof. Promise Nwachukwu Okpala, on Friday said for the council to protect its integrity, Nigerians must not push it into undertaking the duties of internal examiners.
Okpala said the urge to solve the problem of poor performance in public examinations is not the responsibility of NECO.
Okpala intimated that NECO must limit its activities to those that have direct relevance to achieving quality certification and placement of students at the basic and secondary level by remaining neutral.
He stated this in Minna at his valedictory lecture titled: “Beyond the Mandate of a Public Examinations Board: the role of NECO.”
He urged government to always appoint professionals in their areas of specialization or field in order to achieve positive results.
NECO boss noted: “Examinations body should play the role of being a standard-bearer and unbiased umpire or referee, auditor or external examiner in examining, researching not the role of a coach or a teacher if it must achieve effective, efficient and easy performance result.”
Okpala reiterated that relevant stakeholders should make concerted efforts to ensure quality teaching-learning process at the basic and secondary education level through effective implementation of systematic Monitoring of Learning Achievement.
The registrar suggested that NECO needed improved funding and logistics, adding that a special court should be established for easy trial of exams malpractice cases, while proposing customized answer sheets and credible members of the society should be allowed to monitor examinations and write reports to that effect.
He proposed 240 points out of 400 points for JAMB, UTME and five credits, including English and Mathematics, to have a meaningful pass and maintain high standard for education in Nigeria.
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