How To Pass WAEC And NECO Exams With Distinctions

WAEC and NECO are two out of the three bodies responsible for organising senior secondary school examinations in Nigeria.

There has been this frequent asked question or debate, which is better – WAEC or NECO?

The term WAEC, stands for West African Examination Council which was established in 1952. This body has the responsibility of organizing and conducting the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) O’level exams.

This exam is conducted twice a year, May/June and November/December and is open to students who are in their third year of senior secondary school or those who have previously sat for the examinations.

The National Examinations Council (NECO), on the other hand, came into being in 1999 by the Abdusalami Abubakar administration and was charged with the responsibility of conducting the following examinations in Nigeria:

• The Primary 6 Common Entrance Examinations
• The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for Vocational and Junior Schools
• And the Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE)

NECO results are usually released within two months after the last paper. Candidates can check their results online by following these simple steps

The main difference between WAEC (West African Examination Council) and NECO (National Examination Council) is that NECO only operates here in Nigeria while its counterpart WAEC is an international examination body that cuts across the five English-speaking countries in West Africa, comprising Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia, and Nigeria respectively.

How To Pass WAEC And NECO Exams With Distinctions.

In achieving this, students should consciously follow the steps below:

1. INTRODUCTION
2. STEPS TO TAKE
3. AVOID NEGATIVE FACTORS

INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever sat down and imagined passing WAEC and NECO with distinctions? Are you one of the those who believe in ‘let my people‘ result performance? Or are you one of those who believe that distinctions are pre-destined in Heaven and as such we should see it as a no go area?

This is not true. Distinctions are products of hard work, strong determination and technicalities.

What is distinction? In a simple language, distinction means more than very good, brilliant performance, an exceedingly brilliant performance. It means settling for nothing, but the very best.

How Do I make distinctions in WAEC and NECO? Is it for all comers? The answer is simply yes but a matter of choice.

STEPS TO TAKE:

The steps to take in making distinctions in WAEC and NECO are as follow:

1. Register for the Exams: Registering for the exams qualifies you as a candidate to sit for the exams. When you have registered for either WAEC or NECO, you will be given your registration number, centre number and precisely your own centre to write especially for those writing GCE external candidates.
2. Basic or Relevant Text Books for your various subjects: Once you have gotten the relevant text books, then the ball is in your cut to making distinctions in your WAEC and NECO exams. Relevant text books in this regard refer to simplified, rich texts, that when you read, you understand so easily to lunch you into achieving or making distinctions in WAEC and NECO exams.
3. Adequate Preparations: By this, I mean attending classes and reading omnivorously (reading hungrily for the exams). Infact, there is no two ways about reading and passing with distinctions. You must be serious minded in study since is the only option to passing any exams and indeed WAEC and NECO exams for that matter.
4. Laying Hands on Past Questions: This could be of immense help in passing WAEC and NECO with distinctions. Sometimes reading so hard without knowing how to answer the questions could lead to failure. Thus, the past questions are supposed to be a guide in answering subsequent examination questions especially when some questions are repeated. Some students read so hard but write out of points (OP) while some do not even know how to go about a particular question or questions. The resultant effect is failure. When you study past questions, approach your teacher for a guide.

Note that WAEC and NECO have marking guide. Marking guide sets out salient points required of a candidate. You must fit within the ambit of the marking guide otherwise you will be writing out of point. It spells out a candidate who should be given bonus in answering a particular question with a difference or stating additional points outside the required points. This is why some candidates blame it on handedness of the examiner not knowing that such a candidate wrote out of points.

Most often, WAEC and NECO repeat some questions yearly. It gives you an edge over someone who has not practiced those questions at all. When you see such repeated question or questions in your exams, you simply devour them speedily and no doubt this will lunch you to passing WAEC and NECO exams with distinctions.

5. Long Period of Preparation: Passing WAEC and NECO exams with distinctions is not a one day issue or preparation. Rome they say, ‘was not built in a day’. Therefore, long time study gives you the confidence and courage both physically, mentally to do your best in the exams. For instance, a candidate who believes in last hour rush could breakdown or lost out completely. WAEC and NECO are not Almighty exams. Is same as other exams you have taken that brought you to that level. So is no big deal. This is why some brilliant students perform poorly in their exams in most cases, attribute it to unforeseen circumstances. Once you have read and be confident in yourself, surely nothing stands on your way to passing WAEC and NECO with distinctions.
6. Exam Periods: Exam periods are not time to read so hard, rather periods to imagine possible questions to meet and manner of answering questions. Exam periods are periods for group lessons or tutorials among your mates. The importance of this is that you develop or have a mental picture of what you should expect and how to go about it. Is another avenue of sharing ideas and technicalities among your mates and answering questions brilliantly. When you do this, surely, you will pass WAEC and NECO exams with distinctions.
7. Writing the Exams: This is the climax of the whole exercise. The first thing you should do is when you have taken your seat in the hall, pray to God for retentive memory. God first. And before attempting any question, read the instructions carefully. Don’t jump into answering any question without knowing what and what not is required of you. This issue has ruined many candidates because they did not read what the instruction says. Remain calm, cool and confident in yourself and you will have no problem passing the WAEC and NECO exams with distinctions.

AVOID NEGATIVE FACTORS:

If you must pass WAEC and NECO exams with distinctions, you must avoid the following negative factors:

1. Avoid Fear: Yes irrational fear or unnecessary tension could make a candidate to fail woefully. That will not be your portion in the Name of Jesus. When you have read your books and prepared for the WAEC and NECO exams adequately, have nothing to fear. They will not go outside your syllabus or scheme of work. Even if they do, this should not throw you off balance, because exams are meant to test your intelligence quotence. Fear could make you to make a costly mistake and this will not be good for someone who has prepared mentally and physically for an exam like WAEC and NECO.
2. Avoid Repetition: Try to make concrete points rather than making repetitive statements. A candidate who has more points gets more marks than pages of repetitions. For instance, in English Language, most candidates fail because they lack coherence in their approach and in most cases make no point at all. A good write-up of a letter or an essay must have a good introduction, body of the essay, mechanical accuracy and of course a brilliant conclusion. When you have done this, nobody cares to read if the required number of words are meant, rather your performance  will earn you distinctions in your WAEC and NECO exams.
3. Time Duration: Do not forget the time limit for the exams. On the basis of this therefore, each question should have equal time limit to answer. Some candidates spent so much time on a particular question instead of spreading the time among the number of questions. This factor has made it impossible for some candidates to attempt all questions before time limit. Be straight to the points and you will pass WAEC and NECO exams with distinctions.
4. Overzealousness: like I said earlier on, be calm and confident. Don’t create unnecessary tension within you. If you are too overzealous, you could miss vital points or completely disorganized. This is why some brilliant students perform below expectations in their WAEC and NECO exams and any other exams and they blame it on victimization on the part of the examiner.

No normal human  being victimizes a candidate who has performed brilliantly well in any exams. In short, an examiner marks brilliant answers with joy and will be happy that you pass with distinctions. You only need to be calm, cool and collected and you will pass WAEC and NECO exams with distinctions.

In conclusion, there is no magic to passing any exams and indeed WAEC and NECO exams without adequate preparations. There is no alternative way to passing any exams other than to register for the exams, have the relevant text books, make adequate preparations and be confident in yourself.  When you have followed the above mentioned steps and avoid those negative factors, this will lunch you into  passing any exams and indeed WAEC and NECO exams with distinctions.