Home » NECO Syllabus » We’ve put this syllabus together to give you a clear roadmap on what to expect in your computer studies NECO exam. The NECO Computer Studies exam syllabus has been divided into ten thematic areas, each focusing on essential aspects of computer studies. From the basics of computer fundamentals and hardware to software applications.
The examiners want to test your understanding, knowledge, and skills in a variety of areas. From understanding the basic concepts of computer operations to flexing those problem-solving muscles, they want to see what you’ve got. So, buckle up and get ready.
Let’s break down how your NECO Computer Studies exam is structured. The NECO Computer Studies examination consists of three papers: Papers 1, 2 and 3.
Paper 1
Paper 1 is your first round, you’ve got 50 multiple-choice questions coming your way, and you’ve got to answer them all in just one hour. That’s a lot of brain power packed into a short time frame, but don’t worry, you’ve got this, each correct answer will earn you a ½ mark which sums up paper 1 to a total of 25 marks.
Paper 2
You will face five essay questions, but here’s the twist: you only need to answer three of them. That gives you a bit of flexibility to show off your knowledge and writing skills. You’ve still got just one hour, so make every word count. This paper is worth 30 marks in total, so aim high!
Paper 3
Paper 3 is the practical showcase. This is where you get to tighten your belt as the practical assessment will determine your success. For school candidates, it’s all about putting your practical skills to the test. Private candidates, don’t worry, the examiner has something for you too, a chance to show off your knowledge of practical work. You will have two hours to answer three questions and earn yourself 45 marks.
| NECO COMPUTER STUDIES SYLLABUS | ||
| SN | TOPICS | OBJECTIVES |
| 1 | COMPUTER EVOLUTION | 1.1 Computing Devices I (Precomputing age- 19th century) (i)Features , components and uses of early computing devices: – Abacus; – Slide Rule ; – Napier’s bone; – Pascal’s calculator; – Leibniz multiplier; – Jacquard loom; – Charles Babbage’s analytical engine; – Hollerith Census Machine; – Burrough’s Machine. (ii)Contribution of each of the founder of these devices to modern computers. 1.2 Computing Devices II (20th century to date) Features, components and uses of: -ENIAC -EDVAC -UNIVAC 1 -Desktop Personal Computers -Laptop and Notebook computers -Palmtop. |
| 2 | FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTING | 2.1 Overview of Computing System – Definition of a Computer; – Two main constituents of a Computer – Computer hardware; – Computer software – Classification and examples of hardware and software. – Functional parts of a computer Characteristics of Computers – Electronic in nature; – Accuracy; – Speed; – Interactive etc. 2.2 Data and Information – Definition and examples of data and information; – Differences between data and information. |
| 3 | COMPUTER ETHICS AND HUMAN ISSUE | 3.1 Security and Ethics 1. Sources of security breaches: – Virus, worms and Trojan horses; – Poor implementation of network; – Poor implementation or lack of ICT policies; – Carelessness- giving out personal and vital information on the net without careful screening. – Hackers, spammers etc 2. Preventive measures – Use of antivirus software e.g. Norton, McAfee, Avast, etc – Use of firewall; – Exercising care in giving out vital and personal information – Encryption – Proper Network Implementation and Policy – Using sites with web certificates – Exercising care in opening email attachments 3. Legal Issues -Copyright (software copyright) -ownership right to -text; -images; -audio; -video -Privacy of audio and video software -Cyber crimes -identity theft; -internet fraud -Hacking |
| 4 | COMPUTER HARDWARE | 4.1 Input devices Definition and examples of input devices The use of keyboard, mouse, scanner, joystick, light pen, etc Classification of keys on the keyboard into Function, Numeric, Alphabetic -Cursor keys -Features, function and operation of the mouse -Differences in keyboard, mouse, light pen and scanner 4.2 Output Devices -Definition and examples -Output devices: monitor, printer, speaker, plotter – Type, features and uses. -Differences between input and output devices -Similarities and differences in inkjet, laser and line printer 4.3 Central Processing Unit Components of C.P.U.: Arithmetic and logic unit, control unit Function of ALU and Control Unit 4.4 Memory Unit Types of Memory Unit: Primary And Secondary memory -Components of Primary memory unit: ROM and RAM Differences and uses of ROM and RAM Examples of Secondary memory devices: floppy disk, hard disk, compact disk(CD), flash disk, digital video-disk(DVD) Unit of storage in memory devices: bits, nibble, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes Interconversion of unit of storage. -Comparative study of auxiliary storage devices in respect of their size, speed and technology 4.5 Logic Circuits -Definition, types and uses of standard logic gate: AND, NOT, OR Symbols of AND, NOT, OR gates -Construction of truth table for standard logic gates -Differences between AND, NOT, OR gates -NAND and NOR as alternative logic gates should be treated Construction of Truth Table for NAND and NOR Construction of a simple comparator with -XOR( Exclusive OR) -NOR gate |
| 5 | COMPUTER SOFTWARE | 5.1 System Software (i) Definition and types of software – System software – Application software (ii) System software and their examples – Operating System e.g. MS Windows – Translator e.g. Compiler – Tools/ Utility e.g. Antivirus (iii) Examples of Operating System – MS Windows – Linux – UNIX – MS-DOS etc Examples of Translators Assemblers Compilers Interpreters v) Examples of Utility 5.2 Operating System Editor Anti-virus etc Definition, types, examples and function of Operating System Graphic User Interface(GUI) GUI (MS Windows, Linux, etc) Command line (MS DOS, UNIX, etc 5.3 Application Software (i) Definition and types of application software (ii) Common Application Packages and their examples – Word processing(MS Windows) – Spreadsheet(MS Excel) – Database(MS Access) – Graphics (iii) Packages for spreadsheet purpose – Accounting software – Payroll program – Banking software – Education management software – Statistical packages |
| 6 | COMPUTER APPLICATION | 6.1 Word Processing (i)Definition and examples of word processing and word processor -MS Word -Wordstar -WordPerfect (ii)Features of Word Processing programs in general. (iii)Application areas of Word Processing programs -Office -Publishing -Journalism -Education, etc. (iv) Features of MS Word (v) Steps in activating and exiting MS Word (vi) Basic operations in MS Word -Create -Edit -Save -Retrieve -Close (vii) Further operations in MS Word -move -copy -cut -use of different Types and sizes of fonts -formatting -justifying -search/explore -spell checking -file merging, etc 6.2 Spreadsheet (i) Definition and examples of spreadsheet program -VisiCALC -MS Excel -SuperCALC -Autocad, etc (ii)Feature of spreadsheet program (iii)Application areas of Spreadsheet programs: -Accounting -Statistical calculation -Student result, etc (iv)Features of MS Excel Environment -status bar -menu bar -formula bar, etc (v)Definition of basic terms in MS Excel -worksheet -workbook -cells -cell ranges (vi)Data types in Excel -Number -Labels -Formula (vii)Basic operation in Excel -Data Entry -Saving -Retrieve Copy -Move (viii)Arithmetic calculations using formula and built-in function (ix)Additional operation in Excel -Editing -Formatting -Printing -Drawing charts, etc 6.3 Database (i)Definition of database and database packages (ii)Examples of database packages -Dbase IV, -Foxbase -MS Access -Oracle, etc (iii)Basic terms in Database -File -Record -Field -Key (iv)Types of database organization methods and their features -Hierarchical -Network -Relational (v)Features of database format -Files designed as tables -Tables comprise row and columns -Row containing related information about a record. -Column containing specific type of information about a field. (vi)Steps in creating database -define the structure -indicate field type(numeric,character, data,text, etc) enter data -save data (vii)Basic operations on already created database. Database -searching -modifying -sorting -reporting 6.4 Graphics (i)Definition of Graphics (ii)Examples of Graphics packages -Paint -Harvard graphics -Photoshop -Coreldraw, etc (iii)Features in activating and existing Coreldraw (iv)Simple design using Coreldraw -Business card -School logo -National flag -Invitation card -Certification, etc 6.5 Presentation package (i)Definition of presentation package (ii)Examples of presentation package -MS PowerPoint, etc (iii)Features of PowerPoint environment (iv)Steps in activating and exiting PowerPoint (v)PowerPoint operation -create new presentation -insert pictures, text, graphs -animated contents -add new slide -save presentation -run slide show -print presentation -close presentation |
| 7 | MANAGING COMPUTER FILES | 7.1 Concept of Computer Files (i)Definition of some terms -computer file -record -field -data item (ii)Types of data item -numeric -alphabetic -alphanumeric (iii)File structure organisation (Data item—record-file—database) (iv)Types of file organization -serial -sequential -indexed -random (v) Methods of accessing files -serial -sequential -random (vi) File classification -master file -transaction file -reference file (vii)Criteria for classifying files: -nature of content(program and data) -organisation method -storage medium 7.2 Handling Computer File (i)Basic operation on computer files -file -delete -retrieve -insert -copy -view -update -open -close (ii) Effect of file insecurity (iii)Causes of data loss (iv)Methods of file security (v)Differences between computer files and manual files (vi)Advantages of computer files (vii)Disadvantages of computer files |
| 8 | BASIC COMPUTER OPERATIONS | 8.1 Booting and shutting down process (i) Description and types of booting process (ii)Types of booting process (iii)Steps involved in booting a computer (iv)Identification of features on a desktop 8.2 Computer Data Conversion (i)Definition of registers, address, bus (ii)Types and functions of registers: MDR,CIR, SCR (iii)Differences between register and main memory (iv)Steps involved in how a computer converts data to required information (Input-Process-Output) (v)Factors affecting speed of data transfer: -bus speed; -bus width. |
| 9 | INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY(ICT) | 9.1 Communication Systems i)What‘ICT’ acronym stands for. (ii) Types of ICT 9.2 Application areas of ICT (i)Application Areas of ICT include the following: -Teleconferencing -Video conferencing -Telecommuting -Telecomputing -Messaging -Information search, retrieval and archival. (ii)ICT based gadgets and their operations 9.3 Internet (i)Definition of Internet and some Internet terms: -Homepage -Browse -Browser -Chatroom -Cybercafe -HTTP -HTML -ISP -Webpage -Website,etc (ii)Types of internet browsers (iii)Features of Internet browsers (iv)Types of Internet services 9.4 Electronic Mail(e-mail)Services (i)Definition of electronic mail (ii)E-mail Services: (iii)Steps involved in creating e-mail account (iv)Steps involved in opening mail box (v)Features in an e-mail address. (vi)Definition and steps involved in chatting 9.5 Networking (i)Definition of a Computer Network (ii)Types of Network (iii) Network topology (iv)Network devices (v)Advantages of Networking 9.6 Introduction to Worldwide web (W.W.W.) (i)What is the ‘W.W.W.’ acronym stands for (ii)Brief history of W.W.W. (iii)Basic terminologies: -W.W.W. -website -webpage -homepage -protocol, etc (iv)Protocol -HTTP -HTML (v)Uses/benefits of www (vi)Navigating through websites (vii)Difference between e-mail and website address features: e.g.www.waeconline.org and waec@yahoo.com (viii)Software for web development. 9.7 Cables and Connectors (i)Types of Network Cables and Connectors (ii)Types of Computer Cables and Connector |
| 10 | DEVELOPING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS | 4.1 Input devices Definition and examples of input devices The use of keyboard, mouse, scanner, joystick, light pen, etc Classification of keys on the keyboard into Function, Numeric, Alphabetic -Cursor keys -Features, function and operation of the mouse -Differences in keyboard, mouse, light pen and scanner 4.2 Output Devices -Definition and examples -Output devices: monitor, printer, speaker, plotter – Type, features and uses. -Differences between input and output devices -Similarities and differences in inkjet, laser and line printer 4.3 Central Processing Unit Components of C.P.U.: Arithmetic and logic unit, control unit Function of ALU and Control Unit 4.4 Memory Unit Types of Memory Unit: Primary and Secondary memory -Components of Primary memory unit: ROM and RAM Differences and uses of ROM and RAM Examples of Secondary memory devices: floppy disk, hard disk, compact disk(CD), flash disk, digitalvideo-disk(DVD) Unit of storage in memory devices: bits, nibble, bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes Interconversion of unit of storage. -Comparative study of auxiliary storage devices in respect of their size, speed and technology 4.5 Logic Circuits -Definition, types and uses of standard logic gate: AND, NOT, OR Symbols of AND, NOT, OR gates -Construction of truth table for standard logic gates -Differences between AND, NOT, OR gates -NAND and NOR as alternative logic gates should be treated Construction of Truth Table for NAND and NOR Construction of a simple comparator with -XOR( Exclusive OR) -NOR gate |
To ace those multiple-choice questions like a pro, make sure you review all your notes and textbooks thoroughly. Pay attention to key concepts and definitions, and practice answering similar questions to get a feel for the format. Oh, don’t forget to pace yourself during the exam, time management is the key.
You have the freedom to choose three essay questions you want to answer. So take a moment to read through all the questions and choose the ones you feel most confident about. Remember to structure your answers clearly and provide plenty of examples to back up your point.
Along with your class materials, you can also check out NECO’s recommended textbooks and study guides.
You need to know how to manage your time. For Paper 1, aim to spend about a minute per multiple-choice question. For Paper 2, allocate your time wisely, spending more time on questions with higher marks.
Paper 3 is the practical exam. You might be asked to perform tasks like coding, using software applications or troubleshooting hardware issues. It’s a way to showcase what you’ve learned in a hands-on way.
Exam nerves are totally normal, but that doesn’t mean they have to get the best of you! One way to combat nerves is to practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing or visualization exercises leading up to the exam.
The NECO Computer Studies exam is graded based on the accuracy and completeness of your answers. For multiple-choice questions marks are awarded for correct answers, while essay questions are graded based on the quality of your responses.
As for when you will receive your results, results are usually released within a couple of months after the exam date. Be sure to keep an eye on your exam board’s website or contact your school for updates on results release date.
