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NECO Health Education Syllabus 2026/2027 & Textbooks

By February 9, 2026 Blog, NECO Syllabus 2026 0 Comments

The NECO Health Education syllabus covers core areas including human anatomy, physiology, personal hygiene, community health, nutrition, and first aid. Key topics include, among others, the skeletal, respiratory, and nervous systems; disease prevention (communicable/non-communicable); mental health; and family life education.

Based on the general objectives of health education within the Nigerian senior secondary curriculum (which covers NECO), the 2026 syllabus aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to live a healthy life and promote community health.

The NECO Health Education syllabus focuses on personal health, environmental safety, community health, and first aid, aiming to develop positive health practices. It comprises three papers: Paper 1 (Objective, 50 mins), Paper 2 (Theory, 1 hr 20 mins) featuring essay questions. Key areas include anatomy, disease prevention, nutrition, and safety.

NECO Health Education Syllabus 2026/2027


HEALTH EDUCATION
SNTOPICSOBJECTIVES
1HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTH
EDUCATION		1.1 Meaning and setting for health Education
Students should visit to observe community, health facility and workplace base, health
education programmes and services
2HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY2.1 Cells and tissues of Human Body
Structure of a typical animal cell and functions of its parts should be discussed.

2.2 Sense Organs
Differences between mitosis and meiosis should be emphasized.

2.3 Systems of the Body
Mention should be made of epithelial, connective and muscular tissue, an organ and
a system should be explained.

2.4 Posture and Postural Defects
3PERSONAL HEALTH3.1 Meaning and importance of physical health.
3.2 Personal hygiene
3.3 Promotion and maintenance of health
(a) Definition
(b) Factors and their roles in the maintenance of health.

3.4 Health Screening
(a) Eye defects and their corrections.
Myopia;
Hypermetropia;
Astigmatism;
Presbyopia;
Squints (cross eye).
(b) Auditory defects
(c) Conductive impairment
(ii) Neurosensory impairment
(iii) Disorder of the skin
(iv) Care of the eye, ear and skin.

3.5 Dental health education
(i) Meaning and types
(ii) Types of human teeth
(iii) Teeth diseases
4COMMUNITY HEALTH4.1 Community health services
Community health services
(a) Definition
(b) Providers:
(i) Orthodox services e.g. primary healthcare;
(ii) Traditional services e.g. bone setters, birth attendance.
(c) Community efforts in health promotion care;

4.2 School health programme
(a) Definition
(b) Components
(i) Skill-based health education
(ii) Healthful school environment
(iii) School feeding services
(iv) School health and nutrition services
(v) School, home and community relationship.
(c) Goals and Objectives.
(d) Linkages for promotion (initiatives)
(i) Health Promoting School (HPS)
(ii) Child-Friendly School (CFS)
(iii) Focusing resources on Effective
Schools Health (FRESH)
(iv) Life Skills (LS)
(v) Education for All (EFA)

4.3 Family health
Antenatal care, immunization, oral rehydration therapy (ORT), breastfeeding and safe
motherhood should be discussed.

4.4 Ageing and death education
Candidates should be able to define epidemiology, vital statistics and population dynamics.
The importance and use of health records should be stressed.

4.5 Epidemiology and vital statistics
5ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH5.1 Housing
Effects of poor sanitation and pest infestation in home should be discussed.
Effects of substandard housing on health should be discussed.

5.2 Water supply
Sources should include rain, borehole, rivers, streams, springs, well pond,
pipe borne water .

5.3 Waste disposal
Advantages and disadvantages of each method should be discussed.

5.4 Pollution
The need for health care and rehabilitation should be discussed.
The need for health insurance schemes should be stressed.
Students should be able to identify to differentiate between pests and vectors.
6NUTRITION AND FOOD NUTRIENTS6.1 Nutrition
Tests for starch, simple and complex sugars, proteins and fats should be carried out.
Local example of sources of food nutrients should be mentioned

6.2 Balanced/adequate diets
Caloric needs in relations to age, occupation and health condition should be discussed.
Food deficiency diseases should be emphasized.

6.3 Factors influencing feeding habits/choice of foods
Factors responsible for unbalanced diet and effects associated with poor diet should
be discussed.

6.4 Water
Factors should include: availability, religion education, age, belief, health condition and
cost The role of water in relation to nutrition should be discussed

6.5 Nutritional processes: ingestion, digestion, absorption,
assimilation and metabolism and defecation/ejection

6.6 Beverages
Negative and positive effects should be stressed. Nutritional value of non-alcoholic
beverages should be stressed.

6.7 Diet for different group of people: children,male adolescent; female adolescent;
athletes; pregnant woman;adult and aged
Negative and positive effects should be stressed. Nutritional value of non-alcoholic
beverages should be stressed.

6.8 Food hygiene, preservation and storage
Charts should be used to show diets for the different groups of people.
7SAFETY EDUCATION AND FIRST AID7.1 First Aid
8DRUG, ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO EDUCATION8.1 Drug Education
8.2 Behaviour altering chemicals
9COMMUNICABLE AND NON COMMUNICABLE
DISEASES		9.1 Diseases Meaning and classes of diseases.
9.2 Communicable diseases
10FAMILY LIFE AND HUMAN SEXUALITY
EDUCATION		10.1 Human Reproduction
10.2 Human Sexuality Education
10.3 Family and family member roles
10.4 Family life challenges: widowhood; single parenthood,
premarital and extramarital affairs, in-laws etc.
10.5 Family planning and safe motherhood
10.6 Population Education
11EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL HEALTH11.1 Interrelationship

11.2 Attributes
The attributes of emotional and social health should be discussed.

11.3 Mental health
Candidates should be able to state factors that promote mental health.
Types, causes prevention and management of mental health should be discussed.
12CONSUMER HEALTH EDUCATION12.1 Consumer health products and services
-The importance of checking label expiry dates on products before purchase should be
highlighted.
-Various agencies promoting consumers health should be discussed.
-Mention features of genuine products and services

12.2 Laws protecting the consumer

12.3 Factors influencing choice of consumer products;
Authenticity; cost; availability; accessibility; availability and
advertisement

12.4 Consumer health care services
Various types of health services: traditional medicine, orthodox medicine, alternative
methods of healing (acupuncture, yoga and faith healing) should be discussed.

12.5 Quacks and quackery meaning and types
1. Different types of quackery such as mechanical, electrical, drug and cosmetic and
medical quackery should be discussed
2. The danger of quacks and quackery should be highlighted.

12.6 Health insurance and advertisement of health products
and services
1. Meaning and importance of health insurance
2. State of health insurance
3. Advertisement of health products and consumer services.

12.7 Nostrum
Types should include:
(1) Health tonic;
(2) Miracle substances;
(3) Magic portions;
(4) Amulets and talisman

NECO Health Education Textbooks 2026/2027

  • Models of various organs of the body;
  • 2. Models of various parts of the body e.g. teeth;
  • 3. Human skeleton;
  • 4. Bones of the body;
  • 5. Contraceptive devices;
  • 6. Reagents for testing of starch, protein, and fat;
  • 7. Road safety signs;
  • 8. Different types of safety elements;
  • 9. Posters/charts of systems of the body e.g. reproductive, digestive, excretory;
  • 10. First aid box and kits;
  • 11. Fire extinguisher;
  • 12. Sand bucket;
  • 13. Photographs of health facilities and workers e.g. doctors, nurses, and dentists at work;
  • 14. Photographs of methods of sewage and refuse disposals;
  • 15. Microscope
  • 16. Stethoscope
  • 17. Preserved worms;
  • 18. Preserved pests and vectors
  • 19. Photographs/posters of various types of communicable and non-communicable diseases;
  • 20. Model/poster showing parts of the body;
  • 21. Materials for personal hygiene e.g. toothpaste, comb, toothbrush;
  • 22. Dissecting set
  • 23. Photographs/posters of accident scenes;
  • 24. Photographs/posters showing methods of food preservation
  • 25. Photographs/posters showing disaster scenes;
  • 26. Safety;
  • 27. Photographs/posters of drugs commonly misused/abused
  • 28. Tobacco products;
  • 29. Hand lens;
  • 30. Real objects/photographs/posters/charts of classes of food;
  • 31. Photographs/posters showing correct postures
  • 32. Photographs/posters showing postural abnormalities;
  • 33. Poster/real object of sphygmomanometer, thermometer, litmus paper Snellen chart.Models of various organs of the body;
  • 2. Models of various parts of the body e.g. teeth;
  • 3. Human skeleton;
  • 4. Bones of the body;
  • 5. Contraceptive devices;
  • 6. Reagents for testing of starch, protein, and fat;
  • 7. Road safety signs;
  • 8. Different types of safety elements;
  • 9. Posters/charts of systems of the body e.g. reproductive, digestive, excretory;
  • 10. First aid box and kits;
  • 11. Fire extinguisher;
  • 12. Sand bucket;
  • 13. Photographs of health facilities and workers e.g. doctors, nurses, and dentists at work;
  • 14. Photographs of methods of sewage and refuse disposals;
  • 15. Microscope
  • 16. Stethoscope
  • 17. Preserved worms;
  • 18. Preserved pests and vectors
  • 19. Photographs/posters of various types of communicable and non-communicable diseases;
  • 20. Model/poster showing parts of the body;
  • 21. Materials for personal hygiene e.g. toothpaste, comb, toothbrush;
  • 22. Dissecting set
  • 23. Photographs/posters of accident scenes;
  • 24. Photographs/posters showing methods of food preservation
  • 25. Photographs/posters showing disaster scenes;
  • 26. Safety;
  • 27. Photographs/posters of drugs commonly misused/abused
  • 28. Tobacco products;
  • 29. Hand lens;
  • 30. Real objects/photographs/posters/charts of classes of food;
  • 31. Photographs/posters showing correct postures
  • 32. Photographs/posters showing postural abnormalities;
  • 33. Poster/real object of sphygmomanometer, thermometer, litmus paper Snellen chart.

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