NECO Berates Principals For Aiding Exam Fraud

The National Examinations Council (NECO ) has alleged that school principals aid and abet exam fraud.

Abubakar Sadiq, the Chairman of NECO Governing Board, said the council was aware that some principals connive with impersonators to sit the exam, hence they had been resisting the use of biometric machines for candidates’ screening.

Sadiq said there was no going back on biometric verification.
He said the body will omit schools or exam centres where candidates do not go through biometric verification for the examination.

According to The Punch, Sadiq during a test run of 8,000 newly bought biometric machines and 20 Toyota Hilux for examination monitoring, said that they would simplify the candidate registration process.

He said, “In the past, people had to buy scratch cards to register for NECO examinations. That is now gone. Candidates can now register online and as they register, their biometrics is also captured. We have a biometric data capture for every school.

“On examination day, monitors will reach every school. We can eliminate impersonators when all students have their data on the biometric machine. Nobody can come from another school and sit exams.

“For the schools resisting and refusing using our machines, their examination will be cancelled. We know the principals who have connived with impersonators to cheat; they resist the use of biometrics. We are aware. There is no doubt about that. We are aware and we are ready for them.

“Any principal of any school or any examination centre that will not allow us to capture the biometrics of their candidates we will cancel their results. They will not even take the exams.

“So we are giving them warning and notice. We have tested the machines and I am sure we will have 95 per cent accuracy.”

Meanwhile, NECO says it decided to suspend the ongoing 2019 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination because of the Sallah break, saying the exam continues on June 10.