O’Level exams like WAEC, NECO, and GCE are exams made to evaluate students’ readiness for tertiary education and sometimes employment. And as we all know, writing these exams is very essential for gaining admission into higher institutions like universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and more in Nigeria.
But even at that, we will still see some students trying to know if they can gain admission into higher institutions without SSCE, NECO, or GCE. I have taken my time to study students asking this question, and I was able to find out that:
- Some of them haven’t written the exam yet.
- Some of them have written the exam but didn’t make the papers.
- Some of them haven’t seen their results yet.
Due to any of these 3 main reasons listed above, students would want to know if they can gain admission without O’level. If you are one of them, then just stay calm because in this article, I will be answering the question “Can I gain admission without WAEC, NECO, or NABTEB?”.
Also, I will be telling you about some programs and institutions that don’t require O’level results for a start or even never. Before giving an answer to that question, I will like to talk about the role of O’Level in university admissions because this will give you a proper understanding of what I will be saying later on in this article.
Role of WAEC, NECO, and NABTEB in University Admissions
Generally, all tertiary institutions like universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education in Nigeria would require you to have an O’Level certificate before you can register for their post-UTME or screening exercise. And this applies for both UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination) candidates and direct entry applicants.
Not just that, they will also require you to have at least 5 credit passes in your 5 core subjects in not more than 2 sittings, and failure to meet up will lead to an ineligibility in gaining admission. This now leads us to the main topic of this article…
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Book Your Consultation NowCan You Gain Admission Without WAEC, NECO, or NABTEB?
No, you can’t gain admission without WAEC, NECO, or NABTEB. Like I explained earlier, having O’Level results is an important criteria when it comes to admission. The truth is that most universities or polytechnics combine your O’Level and your JAMB or post-UTME results to get students’ aggregate scores. So if you don’t have either SSCE, NECO, or GCE results, how do you expect yours to be calculated?
Also, we have some situations where a student who studied outside Nigeria wants to study in any Nigerian institution and he/she doesn’t have O’Level results. Cases like this depend on the policy of the institution such a candidate wants to study in.
Some institutions might require such students to either write SSCE, NECO, or GCE before he/she can be considered for admission or might request such candidates to provide an international equivalent of O’Level, such as IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) or other standardized tests, depending on the university, polytechnic, or college of education’s policy.
Now I know some of you will be thinking you can gain admission without SSCE, NECO, or GCE if you are aspiring for a part-time course. Well, this is not true; whether full-time or part-time, you will need at least 5 credit passes in your core subjects, which means O’Level results are important.
Can I Gain Admission With Awaiting Results?
No, you can’t gain admission while awaiting results. We have some cases whereby WAEC, NECO, or GCE haven’t released results yet and the institution the students are aspiring for has begun all the necessary registration for the post-UTME exam or screening.
Well, you can fill in your O’Level results as awaiting results, provided that your results will be available and uploaded before the admissions process of that year closes.
Programmes That Don’t Require O’Level Results For A Start
Even as O’Level results are important when it comes to the admission process in Nigeria, there are still some programs that don’t require O’Level results for a start. So if you haven’t written either NECO, GCE, or SSCE, then this should be important for you.
1 Pre-ND, Pre-NCE, and Pre-Degree
In Nigeria, pre-degree, pre-ND, and pre-NCE programs are preparatory programs designed to equip students for universities, polytechnics, or colleges of education. For programs like this, you can be admitted without having your SSCE, NECO, or GCE results.
But when the time comes for you to be promoted to 100 levels where you can study the course you intend to, you will need to write any O’Level exams, andfailure to have an O’Level result after your prep course will lead to an inability of you going further.
2 JUPEB, IJMB, NABTEB Advance, and Cambridge Advance
These programs are just like an alternative way of gaining admission into the university; thereby, you won’t need to write JAMB/UTME. And after completing any of these courses, you will be offered direct entry into 200-level if you take JUPEB or IJMB and direct entry into 100-level or ND/NCE if you take NABTEB Advance or Cambridge Advance (some universities may offer 200-level direct entry).
However, before crossing to 100 level or 200 level depending on the program, you will be needing your O’Level results, and failure to provide them will lead to your inability to move further.
3 Vocational Institutions
In addition, technical and vocational schools might accept students without SSCE, WAEC, or GCE results, especially for certificate programs or skill-based courses. So if you are an aspirant of a vocational institution and you don’t have O’Level results, you can just make inquiries to see if they accept students without SSCE, NECO, or GCE results.
Consequences of Trying to Gain Admission Without WAEC, NECO, or GCE
I know one way or the other, some of you might still find your way into tertiary institutions without having O’Level results, but take note that it will end up causing big problems for you later on as there will be many consequences. Some of these consequences include
- Ineligibility to register for NYSC (National Youth Service Corps).
- Difficulty transferring credits to other institutions if you choose to further your education.
- The requirement to still complete your SSCE, NECO, or NABTEB at a later stage to get your full qualifications.
Aside from these 3 consequences listed above, there are still several others I didn’t mention. Since having O’Level results is an important factor, why stress it? There are actually no two ways about this other than writing the exam.
Conclusion
So in essence, you can’t gain admission without having your SSCE, NECO, GCE, or NABTEB results, and though there might be programs that won’t require O’level at first, you will still need them later on. If you have any questions on this topic, kindly drop them in the comment section below, and I will gladly respond. Thanks for reading this article.