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The National Examinations Council (NECO) has delisted a school in Oyo State for two years over its alleged involvement in mass cheating.
The acting NECO Registrar, Mr Abubakar Gana, disclosed this in Abuja while briefing the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on the mandate and achievements of the council between May 2018 and September 2019.
The school whose identity was not revealed is one of the schools in three states which the council said were delisted on Tuesday.
The council said it recorded cases of examination malpractices such as “collusion by supervisors, teachers and school administrators, who ought to be part of the army fighting the scourge.”
In its recent June and July 2019 Senior Secondary Certificate Examination(SSCE), the council said cases of malpractices were over 40,000.
Gana stated that NECO acquired 8,000 biometric verification machines before the conduct of its 2019 SSCE, adding that the council needed more biometric verification devices to serve its over 16,000 centres.
His words: “The Council successfully conducted the 2019 June/July SSCE with a total of 1,163,194 candidates registered for the examination. A total of 40,630 candidates were involved in the various forms of malpractice; 18 supervisors were blacklisted for poor supervision, aiding, abetting and connivance with candidates to perpetrate examination malpractice.
“Three schools, one each in Katsina, Kebbi and Oyo states, were de-recognised for two years for their involvement in collusion and mass cheating.”
He called on government to prioritise security of examination centers and officials just as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is provided with security during elections, adding that the council had tried to block financial leakages and increase prudence in the management of resources.