Yomi BlackHorticulture and Crop Production is examined at technical and business depth, with a trade or vocational emphasis the general certificates do not carry. 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
- Horticulture and Crop Production
- 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 practical.
- Required for
- Crop science, horticulture and agriculture, 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 makes it hard
Identification is examined on real specimens, and photographs in a textbook do not prepare a candidate for that.
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
- Identifying pests and diseases wrongly, which the practical assesses on sight.
- Neglecting the marketing and economics content.
- No hands-on nursery experience.
Build a specimen book of the pests and diseases in the syllabus, photographed by you, in the field.
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.
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. Horticulture and Crop Production is required for crop science, horticulture and agriculture, 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.
Quick answers on Horticulture and Crop Production
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 Horticulture and Crop Production 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?
Crop science, horticulture and agriculture, and it stands alone as a trade qualification.
How many papers are there?
Objective, essay and a practical.
What makes it hard?
Identification is examined on real specimens, and photographs in a textbook do not prepare a candidate for that.
What is the most common way candidates lose marks?
Identifying pests and diseases wrongly, which the practical assesses on sight.
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.
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.
- Soil preparation and fertility.
- Nursery practice and propagation.
- Crop establishment and management.
- Pest and disease identification and control.
- Irrigation and water management.
- Harvesting, handling and marketing.
The paper structure, and how to weight your time
Objective, essay and a 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.
Sources
- National Business and Technical Examinations Board. www.nabtebnigeria.org