Yomi BlackWhat Fashion Design and Garment Making looks like in NABTEB is set by how NABTEB examines it: written papers plus a substantial practical or trade test that carries more weight here than in any other school certificate. The topic areas matter, but the format decides how you should work them.
- Subject
- Fashion Design and Garment Making
- Examined by
- NABTEB
- Format here
- Written papers plus a substantial practical or trade test that carries more weight here than in any other school certificate
- Depth
- Technical and business depth, with a trade or vocational emphasis the general certificates do not carry
- What the grade does
- An O’level equivalent credit, and for the trade subjects a documented skill an employer can act on
- Papers
- Objective, essay and a substantial practical.
- Required for
- Fashion design, textile technology and home economics, and it stands alone as a trade qualification
How NABTEB examines this subject
The format is written papers plus a substantial practical or trade test that carries more weight here than in any other school certificate, and it is written papers marked conventionally, with the practical assessed on procedure, safety and finished work.
This certificate is the only school-leaving award here that proves you can do something, not only that you know something.
What a good grade here is worth
In this examination the grade is an O’level equivalent credit, and for the trade subjects a documented skill an employer can act on. Fashion Design and Garment Making is required for fashion design, textile technology and home economics, and it stands alone as a trade qualification, 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.
Questions candidates ask about Fashion Design and Garment Making
What makes it hard?
The practical is a construction examination under time, and there is no way to prepare for it without a machine and fabric.
What is the most common way candidates lose marks?
Registering it at a centre with no working machines.
Where do I get the official syllabus?
From NABTEB, on its own site, free. Check the year range on the cover before you use it.
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 Fashion Design and Garment Making compulsory?
No. It is a trade subject, chosen as one of your electives, and you should choose it because a course you want names it.
What is it required for?
Fashion design, textile technology and home economics, and it stands alone as a trade qualification.
How many papers are there?
Objective, essay and a substantial practical.
What the subject covers
Use these topic areas as the frame for your own checklist, then verify the detail against the syllabus NABTEB publishes itself, because depth and emphasis shift between curriculum cycles even when the headings do not.
- Textile fibres and fabric properties.
- Pattern drafting and adaptation.
- Cutting, joining and construction techniques.
- Machine operation and maintenance.
- Garment finishing and pressing.
- Design, costing and the business of dressmaking.
The paper structure, and how to weight your time
Objective, essay and a substantial practical.
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 practical is a construction examination under time, and there is no way to prepare for it without a machine and fabric.
Set that against how this examination works. Workshop hours matter more than reading hours. A candidate without bench time cannot pass the practical.
Where marks are lost in this subject
- Registering it at a centre with no working machines.
- Under-estimating the time the practical construction takes.
- Neglecting the costing and business section, which is pure theory marks.
Confirm your centre has working equipment before you register. This is not a paper you can pass on theory.
Turning it into a plan
- Get the current syllabus from NABTEB 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, written papers plus a substantial practical or trade test that carries more weight here than in any other school certificate, 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. Two series a year across the school and private examinations.
Sources
- National Business and Technical Examinations Board. www.nabtebnigeria.org