Is the certificate offered by WAEC better than that of NECO? Can both
certificates be used to study at the university? Are there any differences
between the two certificates? What do you think? Well, the answer to these
questions is what I am going to explain to you in this article.
In this article, you are going to understand the differences between WAEC and
NECO, and the similarities between the two. You are still going to learn about
where you can use the two certificates. With that being said, let's get
started.
Both WAEC and NECO are one of the best and most recognized certificates in
Nigeria. They are well known more than other O'level certificates to the
extent that all the universities in Nigeria accept them as the number one
means of identification to gain admission into their school.
Although other qualifications like
JAMB
results and
post-UTME
are needed, WAEC and NECO play a vital role in gaining admission.
For the sake of students who are not familiar with these certificates, let me
quickly brief you about them.
The WAEC certificate
WAEC stands for West African Examination council. It is an examination board
established by law to conduct examinations for students who have completed
their 3rd year of education at their Senior Secondary level(which is mostly
known as SSS3). The certificate offered by the board is known as West Africa
Senior School Certificate Examination(WASSCE)
WAEC conducts three different examinations for students who want to graduate
from Senior Secondary School (SSS). These examinations are:
All three certificates serve one purpose although they are conducted
differently.
The NECO certificate
NECO stands for National Examination Council. Just like WAEC does,
NECO conducts examinations for the students who are completing their 3rd
year of education at their Senior Secondary level.
NECO conducts two types of examinations. These are:
SSCE Internal: SSCE Internal is for candidates in the School
system. This examination is conducted in June/July.
SSCE External: SSCE External is for candidates not in the School
system, i.e. Private Candidates. This examination is conducted in
November/December.
The similarities between WAEC and NECO certificates
1. Both the certificate offered by WAEC and NECO can be used to gain admission
to any of the universities in Nigeria.
2. The two examinations are conducted in the same way. The number of subjects
and the way the certificates are graded is the same.
3. Either of the certificate can be used in place of another. That is to say,
the NECO certificate can serve the purpose of the WAEC and vice versa. For
example, when you fail your WAEC result, you will be eligible to use your NECO
certificate to apply for admission.
4. They are both written in the final year of the Senior Secondary School level in the Nigerian system of education.
5. The two results are proof that shows that a student has completed Secondary
school.
Some differences between the two certificate
Even though there are some similarities between WAEC and NECO certificates,
they also differ in certain circumstances.
1. WAEC is conducted in 5 West African countries, which are Nigeria, Ghana,
Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia while the NECO examination is only
limited to the students in Nigeria.
2. The WAEC certificates can be used to gain admission or school in any of the
5 WAEC conducting countries in West Africa including some schools in European
countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United States of
America, Italy, etc, and some other countries around the world while the NECO
certificate can only be used in Nigeria.
FAGs
Both WAEC and NECO are good certificates to gain admission into Nigerian universities. The only advantage that WAEC has over NECO is that it can be used abroad while NECO is only limited to Nigeria.
No. NECO and WAEC do not expire. It is for a lifetime.
No. It is not hard to write
WAEC is more complex when compared to the NECO examination. Researchers have confirmed that the questions in the WAEC examination are more complex than that of the NECO Students who participated in the NECO exam have an 80% assurance to pass than those who write the WAEC examination
