Vox Pop
THE proposed scrapping of the National Examinations Council, NECO, and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME, by the federal government has generated a lot of mixed reactions among Nigerians. Whereas some believe that the idea is good for the country, others feel otherwise. Below are the views of some Nigerians on the issue.
Patrick Ogene, Student: This is a good idea. The scrapping of NECO and UTME is a good initiative because students seem to pass NECO more than West African Examination Council, WAEC, examinations, an indication at it is not well regulated. But my happiness is the inclusion of UTME.
Basil Okagu, Teacher: This action will return Nigeria to the status quo, where people would wait for a long time before results would be released. I think the best way is to fashion out ways of making NECO work better than outright scrapping. We still need examination bodies like NECO to help us reflect the peculiarity of our situation as a nation.
Obinna Vincent, Student: I am happy that government is scrapping UTME because the exam body has frustrated a lot of students. If you check UTME records, you will find out that some students have sat for its exam more than three times without getting admission. So, I’m very happy, the nightmare of UTME is over.
Gabriel Okwor, Civil Servant: Government’s proposed decision to scrap NECO and UTME is aimed at saving costs. The decision did not consider the plight of the millions of students who depend on the body. It is not necessary because it will allow WAEC to have a monopoly of external examinations in West Africa and Nigeria in particular.
Vincent Okoro, Student: Scrapping of NECO will affect majority of students who rely on it as an alternative to WAEC’s certificates. Most students who fail WAEC always rely on NECO as an alternative to move forward in their quest to acquire education.
Chima Obi, Businessman: With the high rate of unemployment in the country, federal government is still proposing to sack thousands of people by scrapping NECO and UTME. This will not augur well for the country. The president should reduce the current expenditure on both the executive and the legislative arms of government to accommodate these important bodies in our educational system.
Compiled by Anayo Ezugwu
— Apr. 22, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT
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UTME should be scrapped, because it decrease the value and qualities of WAEC which is very bad, our government should pls aid us about WAEC, to let the west africa examination council, should be more reliable than other exams, by doing this the student would be acquit on WAEC.