Yomi BlackGovernment is examined at senior secondary depth, examined on the same national curriculum as the other school certificate. That is the sentence to hold onto, because the same subject examined by a different body at a different depth needs a different plan, and candidates who carry preparation across from one to the other lose marks they did not need to lose.
- Subject
- Government
- Examined by
- NECO
- Format here
- An objective paper, an essay paper, and a practical where the subject carries one
- Depth
- Senior secondary depth, examined on the same national curriculum as the other school certificate
- What the grade does
- A credit that combines cleanly with the other council’s result, because the two scales match
- Papers
- Objective and essay.
- Required for
- Political science, law, public administration, international relations and mass communication
How NECO examines this subject
The format is an objective paper, an essay paper, and a practical where the subject carries one, and it is marked against NECO’s own mark scheme, on a nine-point scale identical to the other council’s.
Most candidates sit this alongside the other school certificate, which means this subject is your second chance at the same credit.
The paper structure, and how to weight your time
Objective and essay.
Split your preparation roughly in the proportion the components are weighted. Candidates habitually over-prepare the part they enjoy and meet the other part for the first time in the hall.
What makes it hard
The concepts section is abstract and the Nigerian section is factual, and candidates are usually strong in one and weak in the other.
Set that against how this examination works. Usually prepared alongside the same subject for the other council, which is efficient and also the reason candidates under-prepare the differences.
Where marks are lost in this subject
- Confusing the features of a constitution with the features of a system of government.
- Answering on Nigeria when the question is general, or the reverse.
- Listing functions without explaining them, which caps the mark.
Learn the constitutional development chronology properly. It underpins a third of the paper and it is the most predictable content in the subject.
Turning it into a plan
- Get the current syllabus from NECO and check the year range on the cover.
- Write one line per topic area, with a box beside it.
- Work a past paper in this examination’s format, an objective paper, and tag every question back to a line.
- Mark the lines your teaching has never covered. Those are the priority.
- Re-weight towards the component carrying the most marks. One internal diet a year, usually mid-year, on its own timetable rather than the other council’s.
What a good grade here is worth
In this examination the grade is a credit that combines cleanly with the other council’s result, because the two scales match. Government is required for political science, law, public administration, international relations and mass communication, and course requirements are checked subject by subject, so a strong overall result with a weak grade here is a disqualification for the course that names it rather than a near miss.
Government: common questions
Has the syllabus changed?
Syllabuses are revised on published cycles and old ones stay online after they expire. If the copy you are holding has no year range, you do not know what you are holding.
How do I turn it into revision?
One line per topic area with a box beside it, then tick the lines off against past papers rather than against your notes. The lines that stay blank are the finding.
Is Government compulsory?
No. It is a humanities subject, chosen as one of your electives, and you should choose it because a course you want names it.
What is it required for?
Political science, law, public administration, international relations and mass communication.
How many papers are there?
Objective and essay.
What makes it hard?
The concepts section is abstract and the Nigerian section is factual, and candidates are usually strong in one and weak in the other.
What is the most common way candidates lose marks?
Confusing the features of a constitution with the features of a system of government.
Where do I get the official syllabus?
From NECO, on its own site, free. Check the year range on the cover before you use it.
What the subject covers
Use these topic areas as the frame for your own checklist, then verify the detail against the syllabus NECO publishes itself, because depth and emphasis shift between curriculum cycles even when the headings do not.
- Basic concepts of government and political ideologies.
- Organs of government and the separation of powers.
- Constitutions and constitutional development in Nigeria.
- Political parties, elections and public opinion.
- The structure of Nigerian government, federal, state and local.
- Nigeria’s foreign policy and international organisations.
- NECO Government: past questions
- All NECO subjects
- NECO syllabus, all subjects
- NECO grading and what counts as a credit
Sources
- National Examinations Council. SSCE External registration. ssceexternal.neco.gov.ng
- National Examinations Council. www.neco.gov.ng