Anxiety Grips Students and Parents as NECO Delays Release of 2023 SSCE Results

In a state of apprehension, students and parents find themselves on edge due to the prolonged delay in the release of the June/July 2023 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) results conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO). With many Senior Secondary 3 (SS3) students having taken the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) with pending results, the wait for NECO's verdict has become increasingly nerve-wracking. These students and their parents eagerly anticipate the NECO results as they hold the key to their higher education aspirations.

Some students had also taken the May/June 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) but fell short of obtaining the required five credits. For them, NECO's results are the last hope for securing their admission into higher education institutions.

The Head of Information and Public Relations of NECO, Azeez Sani, initially indicated that the council planned to unveil the SSCE results by the end of September following the conclusion of answer script marking on September 28th.

Expressing his concerns, Mr. Oyetoro Falade, a parent, revealed that his son scored an impressive 256 in the 2023 UTME but lacked the necessary credentials from the WASSCE. Falade emphasized the urgency of the situation, given that his son's first-choice university would soon commence its admission process. Mr. James Okpara, another parent, echoed these sentiments, stressing that his son urgently needed the NECO results to complete the post-UTME registration for Olabisi Onabanjo University, which was nearing its deadline. Okpara also mentioned that his son's WASSCE results were still pending since August.

The delay has taken a toll on students like 17-year-old Lekan Oguntade, who fears that his admission prospects into a polytechnic institution are slipping away. He stated, "I don't want to miss admission this year."

Another anxious student, Falola Samuel, voiced his concerns about potentially wasting his commendable UTME score of 237 in 2023. He revealed, "Most universities have started admissions, and many students are anxiously waiting for the SSCE results. I applied to a university as an awaiting result candidate, and with 237 in UTME, I don't want to miss admission this year."

However, an insider within NECO assured that the process to release the 1.2 million results had been completed, offering a glimmer of hope that the results would be made available soon.

In a separate development, parents and guardians in Kano State can breathe a sigh of relief as Governor Abba Yusuf has allocated over N1.5 billion to cover the NECO registration fees for 57,000 secondary school students, according to reports.

As the wait for NECO's results continues, students and parents across the nation remain in a state of heightened anticipation, with their educational futures hanging in the balance.