(VOICE OF NAIJA)- Prof. Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi is the Registrar and Chief Executive of National Examination Council (NECO). In this interview, he talks about how NECO surpasses WAEC in recent years, shares story of turnaround and lots more.
Q: One of the reasons why the NECO was created was to ease the burden that was shouldered by WAEC but over time NECO has surpassed even what WAEC was doing at that time. How did you attain this incredible feat?
A: Thank you so much, and you are welcome to the council. It has not been an easy journey. When I took over, I met NECO at a time when it was struggling to stabilize, following a series of crises that led to the establishment of a presidential committee by the then Minister of Education. The committee’s recommendations resulted in the dismissal, termination, and sanctioning of some staff members. I took over after the death of the then substantive Registrar, Professor Obioma.
As the largest national examination body in the country, we conduct conventional examinations, including the Basic Education Certificate Examination and the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). We also conduct the SSCE for candidates who could not meet the requirements for admission into tertiary institutions.
When I took over, I visited offices across the nation to assess the work environment. We observed a lack of basic infrastructure, including inadequate chairs, tables, generators, and photocopiers. We also faced logistical challenges, with very few vehicles available for council use. We had to borrow vehicles from JAMB, INEC, and other examination bodies.
To address these challenges, we repositioned the council by providing adequate working infrastructure and improving staff welfare. We recognized the importance of a conducive work environment and the need to motivate staff. We also introduced a welfare document, which was previously proposed but not approved.
Our efforts have yielded positive results, and we are committed to fairness, equality, and transparency in our operations. We have eliminated nepotism, favouritism, and polarization along political, religious, and ethnic lines. Our staff are now more motivated and committed to delivering effectively on our mandate.
READ ALSO: NECO Registrar Joins Africa’s Top Educational Assessment Council
Q: What steps has NECO taken to modernize its operations and improve efficiency?
A: The confirmation of results for new employees is now done without them even knowing that their results have been verified. We’ve also introduced e-supervision software, where supervisors are selected online. If you’re interested, you visit our state offices, receive a code, log in, and input your data. The nomination process is done online.
We’ve also introduced software to assist examiners in collating results. This software helps locate missing candidate data, input the missing information, and process the results. Some institutions and states register late, and this software makes it easier to manage those situations.
Additionally, we’ve purchased E-greenery to enable our item generators to easily access current knowledge materials in their discipline, making it easier to develop examination items. We’ve also provided internet access in our council, ICT department, and NECO demonstration secondary school. Our staff can now easily access the E-greenery data, and we’ve created an E-library to house the E-greenery database. These are just a few things we’ve accomplished.
Q: It’s actually quite remarkable let’s go into your initial election to Executive Council of the Association for Educational assessment of Africa
A: Yes, that organization is an association of assessment bodies in Africa. Every country with assessment bodies is supposed to be part of this professional association. It provides an avenue for experts in the assessment industry to gather, share ideas, and share experiences from individual countries in order to improve the assessment systems of member countries.
Q: Like a pair review?
A: Yes, like a pair review kind of… And you also have professional developers of assessment technologies that are also parts of the association. Whenever we have conferences, you have these manufacturers of assessment technology coming to display their devices, their softwares that has to do with assessment so and it has a system of recruiting executive members of the council, and this is done originally. So, we have West African representative, we have South Africa representative, we have East African representative, like that. So, members from each region will gather to nominate and elect representative of their own region. So that was what happened in South Africa that got me into The Executive Council of AEAA.
Q:It was clearly a testament to NECO’s performance, sir. In the 2004 SSCE examinations, results showed that about 40 schools across 17 states were involved in malpractices. Your officials were able to detect these cases, and you promised to take action. How far have we progressed with that, sir?
A: Yes, as a system, we have a process to address examination malpractice. As far as NECO is concerned, we have zero tolerance for examination malpractice, and we have put several measures in place to check it. We are aware that malpractice can occur before, during, and after examinations, and there are various types of malpractice. We have a list of them and keep a close eye on how to identify these different types of malpractice.
In the Department of Quality Assurance, we have a division dedicated to examination malpractice. This division collates information from invigilators and monitors in the field to detect malpractice. After collecting these reports, a committee reviews and analyzes them to determine the level of malpractice in each examination.
To curb malpractice, we physically involve uniformed personnel to monitor certain areas during examinations. We also engage the services of plainclothes security agencies deployed in all our centers across the nation. Additionally, we have internal examination monitors and invigilators who conduct the examinations at the centers.
We have processes in place for sanctioning and penalizing schools found guilty of malpractice. For instance, 40 schools across 17 states were found guilty, and we gave them the benefit of a fair hearing. We invite them to our headquarters, show them evidence of malpractice, and give them an opportunity to defend themselves.
If they fail to defend themselves, we apply appropriate sanctions. However, we have not been fully utilizing the law, specifically Act Number 30 on malpractice. We feel it is time to start prosecuting those caught engaging in examination malpractice.
We also have an Examination Malpractice Intelligence Committee, which monitors the internet for possible examination malpractice sites. We have been able to tackle this issue head-on.
Examination malpractice is a global problem, not peculiar to Nigeria. We attended an international conference in Jamaica, where we met with educators from other countries to share ideas on how to tackle examination malpractice.
We have zero tolerance for malpractice and organize programs to sensitize citizens, students, and educators about the dangers of examination malpractice. We sponsor seminars, jingles called school challenge on 105.5FM and other awareness programs to propagate the ease of examination malpractice.
READ ALSO: FG Enforces 18-Year Age Limit For NECO, WAEC Exams
In 2022, we organized seminars in conjunction with the National Assembly in Lagos, Abuja, and Akwa Ibom State. We also sponsor jingles on national radios and televisions to sensitize the public about the dangers of examination malpractice.
Q: Thank you very much for your time. I want to ask, what are the challenges confronting NECO?
A: We have several challenges confronting NECO. We have deficits, availability of office accommodation across the states, because we are not drawing appropriation for capital projects. As far as the council is concerned. So for close to 20 years, we’ve not been drawing this so we’re making effort, and our effort has yielded fruit, because we are currently building 10 offices across 10 states, three from our own IGR, seven from the effort we made to draw from the National appropriation in 2023 so we are making effort to see that at least we close this, this very gap.
So provision of offices by NECO is a challenge because 75% of our offices are rented apartments, so we pay rent so we can see the huge amount of money the council has to use to pay rent, and sometimes, as a result of this, we also enter into litigation, because some of the landlords take the council to court as a result of one minor thing or the other. So we also have to spend money going to court to defend the council so and we have also challenges that have to do with logistics, even though we’ve been able to buy more than 75 brand new Hilux vehicles for staff and also for other logistics run during the examination. This added to our fleet because we had the opportunity to do that and we didn’t waste it. We made use of it and. We bought these brand-new vehicles, so our logistic problems is reducing, but it’s still, you know, a challenge, and because government is not giving us, how do I put it? Is it overhead to run the council. It’s like we are partially funded. We generate our money, and they take 80% surplus, and we leave, 20% surplus to us to also run on the council. So you find that the issue of availability of funds is very, very critical in our own operation, so it’s constitute one of the biggest challenge. For us, you can see you journalists who have been threatened for protest that we have not paid our examiners three months after the examination and one month after we release the results. Of course, it’s because we are financially so to say yes constraint. It’s not that we have not been paying. Yes, we’ve been paying because the entire examiners caught across, 24 banks that we have to do the payment, about 72,000 Of them, yes, 72,000to examiners
So and out of this, we have paid more than 40,000 examiners where we are paying bank to bank and as a result of the constraint of money, we have to wait to have some payment from states that have taken loan from us to conduct the examination.
After conducting the examination, they pay us for the student they have subscribed for. So we have to follow up to them, for them to make payments. So we cannot make payment when the money are. The money is outside. So we have to follow up to get the money and we make payment before they started complaining and writing on it. Of November, we had paid 21 banks before eight of November, when they started complaining, we had paid 21 banks out of 24 only three banks, and today, Monday, we paid the 22nd bank so and we have only two banks that left and people are complaining that we are exhibiting negligence attitude towards paying their remuneration. We don’t blame them.
They have the right. You know, we appreciate their input. As far as the ad hoc responsibility we gave them is concerned, they did their work, and they are expecting that after the work, we give them their money. It has not been so, because since I came in, we have not delayed any persons, any payment.
As far as we are concerned, we have such money, not even our staff talk less of people that we engage their services ad hocly to assist us this job in our own overall interest. Is not in the interest of the council alone, but as Nigerians in our own overall interest, because as an examiner, we don’t have a brother or sister that sit for the for the one of your brother or uncle will also have a child that right? So we are doing it for ourselves.
So it is not out of negligence that we’ve not been able to pay it’s because we have monies held there in the states that they have not paid us, and we are assuring them before the end of the week, we know we are going to clear everything by the grace of God, so they should also be very patient. As far as that is concerned.
Q: When will NECO embrace computer-based test?
READ ALSO: WAEC Adopts CBT For Conduct Of SSCE
A: As soon as possible, as soon as the situation is ripe for it, we don’t want to just jump into the fog environment of conducting CBT test or examinations. No, we have to ensure that when we are going into it, we are going into it as a professional assessment body that wherever and whenever we conduct examination, the result of it will be valid, will be reliable, will be authentic.
It will be respected and acceptable by the consumers of the results, because certainly institutions have to consume it. We don’t want to give results that the consumers will be apprehensive about consuming the result. So we are taking our time planning to ensure that at least where we make every provision necessary for the take-off of CBT, the public will see us just conducting CBT, and the results, they will like it, because it will be a very credible one, because stakeholders will come and see how we are conducting it. And we are hoping that as we start conducting CBT, it will be hike free.
Q: What is your vision for NECO sir?
A: NECO’s vision is incorporated into a three-year strategic development plan, which is being introduced for the first time. This document outlines our vision, mission, and specific activities to achieve our goals. It also addresses issues like Computer-Based Testing (CBT) and artificial intelligence, which are crucial components of our strategic plan.
We recognize the importance of adapting to global trends, and we’re committed to avoiding being left behind. Currently, we’re collaborating with the Enugu state government to conduct basic examinations using CBT. We’ve given them a two-year grace period for accreditation, after which we’ll assess their facilities and readiness for CBT examinations.
We can leverage the National Common Entrance examination as a pilot for CBT, since it’s already multiple-choice based. This will enable us to transmit and process results quickly. However, we anticipate several challenges, including infrastructure provision, computer centers, and security measures like CCTV cameras. Financing will be a significant factor in managing these centers.
To address these challenges, we’ll explore partnerships with credible institutions that specialize in providing CBT infrastructure. Conducting CBT examinations for our major tests, which attract over 1.3 million candidates across 76 subjects, will require significant infrastructure investments. We cannot afford to rush into this without proper preparation, as it may lead to logistical issues and undermine the examination process.
READ ALSO: Father Jailed For Attempting To Write JAMB Examination For Daughter
For example, you find that only on three subjects, you will conduct examination for close to 4 million candidates. CBT for 4 million candidates. So it’s not going to be an easy provision of infrastructure. So we have to not just jump into the fog of conducting. Yeah, yeah. So we have to be seriously prepared. We have to be seriously prepared to deliver effectively and efficiently. We don’t have a situation where we start conducting examination. Candidates will go to the center and we say no, go back and come tomorrow, because the servers, all the computers, are giving us problems after keeping you for hours at the center at the end of the day, you don’t even write the examination, the moral of the candidate, the waste in the resources, you know, so many things there. So we don’t want to get ourselves into such such a situation.
Our goal is to deliver effective and efficient services, avoiding situations where candidates are inconvenienced due to technical issues or logistical challenges.
Q: There was this controversy about the age bracket, (18 years) for students to go into higher institution?
A:Well, I think now it is a thing of the past, because the minister said he has abolished it. But for me as an educator, I sat with my former minister in the National Assembly when we were invited. Minister also invited us to those events. The members were contesting their Well, you do simple calculation, six three three four, six years of primary. And if you go by the national policy on education, six years of primary, that is one year of nursery school for public school, one year nursery and six-year primary that is seven, then three years of junior secondary school that is 10, then three years of senior secondary school That is 13, then also four years of tertiary education, that is 17 by the structure. Then at what level are you expected to start nursery one? No three one. You are expected to start nursery one at a level that you can identify symbols, if you go by education, or if you go by some learning theories, such as budget learning theory on behavioral development, you understand you find that you can’t do that less than three years. So it will be either four or five. So if you must be four years before you start, nursery one , 4 plus 17. Yes, four plus 17.
Q: That will be 21
A: That will be 21, so you’ll be 21 before you start university. In those days where you must cross your hand to touch your ears. Your hand will never touch your ears if you are not seven years old. In those days, we did such thing. And at that time, we even did seven years of primary education, seven years of primary education. So, by the time I finished primary school, I was 14, 15, yes, sir, yes, 14, 15, years and I had to do up to, five years in secondary school, that is 19 years so and I said it, and I quoted the theory because it stated the ages, yes, yes, of cognitive development. So if you go by that in Nigeria, you can’t even start at 18. You can start at 18. And it’s the usual thing is not like there is a separate policy that said, this is this. But when you follow the structure, the structure, when you follow it strictly, it will be 18, or more than 18 before you get into the university.
Q: With this Gamot of work, tight schedule, how do you relax?
A: The work is my relaxation.
Q: Wow!
A: Yes, The work is my relaxation. It’s what gives me pleasure. So, if it gives me pleasure, it means it provides me with an opportunity to relax. Yes, indeed. Just like one of my friends once said, he told me to tell his father, ‘Daddy, you have us now, it’s time for you to rest.’ Since you have us at this level, he said. But his father agreed, saying, ‘Yes, I have you, but I won’t rest until I’m in my grave.’ That’s the mindset of someone dedicated to serving humanity. What rest can you expect? You must put in your best effort, based on your capacity, and leave the rest to God. That’s when you’ll have peace of mind and truly relax.
Q: You are eating into the time of your family. The time they should be with you.
A: They should understand that it’s God’s job, and also a national assignment. But who represents the nation? You can’t pinpoint a single person. It’s like trying to identify the government – you can only point to its representatives. Tinubu our President is the President, representing the government of Federal Republic of our government is representing, it is God.
Once you acknowledge that you’ll be held accountable for your responsibilities, you’ll strive to give your best and leave the rest to God. When you’re satisfied with your efforts, that’s all that matters. It gives you a sense of pleasure, regardless of the challenges. That’s where I derive my pleasure – when I feel I’ve given my best.