The race for admission into nursing programmes across several schools in Nigeria has become unpredictable for candidates who failed one or more core subjects in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and are now caught in an agonizing wait for the National Examinations Council (NECO) to release its results. So they can meet the admission requirements.
With several nursing institutions closing or nearing the end of their admission windows, these candidates find themselves caught between the hope of using a fresh NECO result to replace missing WAEC credits and the growing fear that the grades will arrive far too late.
One of the affected candidates, Mercy Christopher, revealed that the admission process turned into a race against time after she failed Physics in the 2026 WASSCE conducted by the West African Examinations Council.
Christopher, a graduate of Federal Government Girls’ College, Gboko, Benue State, had set her sights on securing admission into the NKST College of Nursing Sciences, Mkar, to study Nursing. Although she successfully participated in the institution’s recent screening examination, her hopes of completing her file with a second-sitting result remain threatened by delays in the release of the 2026 NECO results.
This has left her in a state of limbo, particularly as the institution’s primary admission window for the 2026/2027 academic session has already drawn to a close.
The NKST College of Nursing Sciences, Mkar, had earlier announced the sale of Post-UTME screening forms for its ND/HND Nursing programme, explicitly stating that candidates must possess at least five O’Level credit passes in English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics in not more than two sittings. Applicants were also required to score a minimum of 150 in the 2026 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) UTME and list the college as their first choice.
While the application deadline lapsed on August 18, 2026, and screening followed on August 20, Christopher had met every single criterion except the complete O'Level profile. She registered for the NECO examinations expecting the results to supply the missing Physics credit, but marking for the 2026 NECO papers is still underway, with official release anticipated around early September.
By the time those results land, the admission doors for many nursing institutions will be firmly shut, leaving qualified candidates who satisfied their O’Level criteria via NECO with zero opportunity to tender their credentials.
Speaking with EXAMGUIDE, Christopher’s mother highlighted that her daughter’s predicament reflects a systemic bottleneck affecting prospective nursing students nationwide. She called on government regulators and academic boards to urge tertiary institutions to extend their submission windows for candidates awaiting results from secondary exam bodies.
"My daughter sat for WAEC and unfortunately did not make the required credit in Physics. She also registered for NECO because we knew she could use the result to correct the situation."
"She has already participated in the screening exercise, but the problem now is that the NECO result is not out. We are being asked to meet an admission deadline when the examination body has not even released the result."
"This is not something the candidates can control. They have written the examinations and are waiting for the results. Government should look into this situation and encourage schools to give students some time to present their NECO results."
"There are many students in this situation. Some passed WAEC but have one or two subjects they need to replace with NECO. If the NECO result comes out after the admission deadline, such students may lose the opportunity to gain admission despite having the required qualifications."
She added that the family is already preparing for the worst-case scenario if the deadline isn't adjusted.
"We are already planning that she may have to write JAMB again next year and reapply. It is painful because she has been preparing for Nursing and has already gone through the screening process."
While the general ND/HND Nursing pipeline remains constrained by these strict August dates, the Mkar institution’s official notice indicates that the ND2 entry route reserved for registered midwives carries a much later application deadline of October 22, 2026, with screening set for October 23. However, for basic nursing applicants like Christopher, the coming weeks will determine whether their academic year is saved or postponed.
Are you preparing to sit for the WAEC or NECO examination? Download and study with the ExamGuide SSCE Practice App to pass the exam in one sitting. Download from www.examguide.com/offline/products/ssce