Burkina Faso schools gain NECO accreditation for SSCE and BECE.

By comfort.

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has officially accredited schools in Burkina Faso to conduct its Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), marking the latest step in the council’s growing international presence.

The announcement was made on Sunday, November 30, 2025, by NECO’s Acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani, following a thorough accreditation visit by a NECO team.

What the Accreditation Means

Selected schools in Burkina Faso have been fully approved after inspections of:
- Classrooms, labs, libraries, ICT facilities
- Examination halls, security, and sports infrastructure
- Teacher quality and continuous assessment records
Nigerian students in Burkina Faso can now sit for NECO exams without travelling back to Nigeria — ending long, risky, and expensive trips to places like Saki in Oyo State.

Relief for Nigerian Families

Nigeria’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Amb. M.D. Galadima, hailed the move as a major breakthrough:

“Parents were forced to travel hundreds of kilometres under security risks and heavy financial burden just for their children to write NECO. This accreditation removes that hardship and keeps families together.”

NECO’s Growing Global Footprint

Burkina Faso joins an expanding list of countries hosting official NECO centres:

United Kingdom (new centre in London, 2025)
Togo
Benin Republic
Niger Republic
Equatorial Guinea
Côte d’Ivoire
Saudi Arabia

NECO now positions itself as Africa’s leading examination body, offering internationally recognized certificates to Nigerian diaspora students and foreign nationals.

Leader of the accreditation team, Uche Ezenwanne, added: