No More Scratch Cards- Says NECO

• No More Scratch Cards- Says NECO

The National Examination Council (NECO) has adopted a new system for its Senior Secondary Certification Examination (SSCE), Abubakar Saddiq stated.

According to Abubakar Saddiq, the Chairman, NECO board, the council has scrapped the use of scratch cards and acquired 8,000 biometric machines for registration of candidates.

“In the last people have to buy scratch cards in order to register for NECO examination. That is out. No more scratch cards. People (will) register online and they (will) be given a code and they will go ahead to register.

“As they register, their biometrics are captured. Every school is on a particular biometric data capturing machine. Every data is captured on that small machine.

“It is impossible for anybody to impersonate a candidate during our exams because the captured data is on our platform,” he said.

Abubakar Gana, NECO’s Acting Registrar, said the new system was developed to enhance operations and overall security of its examination.

Gana further stated that the scratch card has failed to curb examination malpractice over the years, therefore, it was imperative for the exam board to adopt a more effective system.

He said the 8,000 biometric machines cost the council N500 million, while 20 Toyota Hilux gulped N327,800,000.

“Each of the vehicles cost N16, 390,000 while a unit of the biometric capture machine was bought at N62, 500,” he said.