The National Examinations Council (NECO), yesterday, said that adequate time and opportunity were given to all schools to register their candidates for the 2020 Basic Examination Certificate Examinations (BECE).
The explanation followed complaints from parents and schools that their wards were denied access to the portal to register for the examination that commenced on Monday, August 24.
In a statement yesterday, the Head, Information and Public Relations Division of NECO, Azeez Sani, alleged that some candidates and schools failed to take advantage of the extension of the date of registration for the examination.
He said that due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and the need to accommodate late registration, the council had deemed it fit to extend the duration for registration to 12 midnight of Friday, August 21, 2020.
According to Sani, the closure of the portal on the said date was neither punitive nor designed to undermine registrants and schools, but was to allow the council produce and distribute materials to examination centres for seamless conduct of the exercise.
“NECO states that adequate opportunity was provided well in advance for all schools to register their candidates.
“This was given that some schools and/or candidates may have faced difficulties in the course of the registrations. Due largely to this and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council extended the duration for registration to 12 midnight of Friday, August 21, 2020. The extension was widely publicized through various platforms. The aim was largely to accommodate late registration.
“It is regrettable that despite these measures, some schools failed to complete the registration or enrollment processes,” Sani said.
He, however, assured the public of NECO’s commitment to effective and efficient conduct of all examinations within its statutory mandates, saying it would continue to engage all stakeholders as might be appropriate.
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