What is WAEC and NECO for Nigerian Students?
WAEC (West African Examinations Council) is an examination board that conducts senior secondary school examinations, SSCE in Nigeria. WAEC also conducts its examinations in west African countries like Ghana and Gambia. There are two exams in total conducted by WAEC. The first one is a senior school certificate exam or WASSCE.
This examination is taken two times every year in the month of May and June. The second exam taken by WAEC is GCE or General Certificate exam. This exam can be taken by anyone who is interested. GCE is taken in the month of November and December.
On the other hand, NECO (The national examination council) is specifically a Nigerian examination board that conducts the SSCE exam for Nigerian students. It is mainly an alternative to WAEC that mainly focuses on Nigerian students only.
Just like WAEC NECO also conducts 2 examinations in total. Which are SSCE and an external SSCE examination. The SSCE exam is mainly for students in the sixth year of their secondary school education. This examination takes place in the month of June and July. While the external SSCE exam is taken in November and December.
General Grade System of WAEC and NECO for Nigerian students:
The grading system of WAEC and NECO is quite straightforward. A1 is Excellent, B2 is Very Good, B3 is good while C4, C5, and C6 are Credit. The later grades are interpreted as failures in the examinations.
The grading system of WAEC and NECO for Nigerian students:
- A1 Excellent = 75% – 100% Marks Obtained
- B2 Very good = 70%-74% Marks Obtained
- B3 Good = 65%-69% Marks Obtained
- C4 Credit = 60%-64% Marks Obtained
- C5 Credit = 55%-59% Marks Obtained
- C6 Credit = 50%-54% Marks Obtained
- D7 Pass(failure) = 45%-49% Marks Obtained
- E8 Pass(failure) = 40%-45%.Marks Obtained
- F9 (Failure) = 0%-39% Marks Obtained
Documents needed for WAEC and NECO for Nigerian students:
If you are applying for acceptance of the examinations you will have to submit the following documents to take the examinations:
- Your current high school transcript, certificates (if available)
- English proficiency test results may be required.
- Extra information may be required if you are taking admission to some programs.
What can you do with WAEC and NECO for Nigerian Students?
The WAEC and NECO results are needed for you to prove your capabilities to pursue higher degrees in your home country or abroad. If you apply to other countries you can do so with your WAEC and NECO results. You can apply to universities from countries like the USA, Canada, the UK, and more countries.
Students participating in these examinations from west African countries can apply to UK universities with their exam results. Many UK universities are accepting WAEC and NECO examination results. Students with a grade of C6 can study in the UK without the need to sit for an IELTS test. This can be a huge advantage for Nigerian students wanting to study abroad without IELTS or any other English language test.
Conclusion:
WAEC and NECO take Nigerian students to the next step of preparing Nigerian students for higher studies in Nigeria and abroad. Lastly, it is important to note that If you have not taken your WAEC examination you can sit for NECO as WAEC is not compulsory as long as you take your NECO exam. You are allowed to sit for both of the exams or just one of them depending on your need. If you take both exams then the possibility of getting better grades increases or if you fail one you can take the other exam. This is how you can prepare for a better future and career.
