The National Examinations Council (NECO) has accredited selected schools in Burkina Faso to host its examinations, marking another milestone in the council’s growing international footprint.
The development was announced on Sunday in Abuja by NECO’s Acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani.
Sani said the approval followed a comprehensive assessment of facilities across schools in Burkina Faso and cleared the way for the conduct of both the Senior School Certificate Examination and the Basic Education Certificate Examination in the West African country.
According to him, an accreditation team from NECO inspected classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computer labs, workshops, examination halls, sports facilities and security architecture during the visit.
“They also reviewed the schools’ Continuous Assessment (CA) records, teacher adequacy, and general learning environment to determine suitability for NECO examinations.
“After what was described as a thorough and detailed evaluation, the schools were granted full accreditation to host the SSCE and BECE,” Sani noted.
He said the expansion underscores NECO’s commitment to delivering quality assessment services beyond Nigeria’s borders.
“With its expanding global presence, NECO is poised to become a leading examination body in Africa, offering opportunities for Nigerian students and other foreign nationals worldwide to benefit from its expertise,” Sani added.
Sani recalled NECO’s recent establishment of an examination centre in London, adding to existing centres in Togo, Benin Republic, Niger Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Saudi Arabia.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, M.D. Galadima, lauded the move, describing it as a major relief for Nigerian families residing in the country. He explained that parents had long struggled due to differences in educational systems and the shortage of English-language schools.
“Previously, parents had to take their children to Saki, Oyo State, to register and write the examination, exposing students and parents to security risks and imposing heavy financial burdens on families and school proprietors,” he said.
Galadima added that the accreditation would remove these risks and significantly ease the financial pressure on parents.
He urged the Nigerian community in Burkina Faso to take advantage of the opportunity by registering their children for NECO examinations.
Leader of the accreditation team, Uche Ezenwanne, said the approval means Nigerian students in Burkina Faso will no longer need to travel back home to sit for their exams.
He noted that the expansion “will reinforce NECO’s position as Africa’s foremost examination body.”
