LAGOS
– The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced that West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, will commence on April 24 and end on June 20, in Nigeria, spanning a period of eight weeks and one day.As usual, the Council promises to release the results of examination not later than 45 days after the date of the last paper.This was announced by the Head of Nigerian Office (HNO), DR Amos Dangut at a press conference in the expansive Conference Room of the Council at Yaba, Thursday afternoon.According to Dangut, this year’s edition of the examination will feature a debut of the Computer-based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for School Candidates, .Strikingly notable in the edition is that from this year, two candidates will not have the same questions on each number.According to the soft-spoken but firm HNO, this initiative is part of the paradigm shift in the education sector, particularly, the adoption of current test administration techniques geared towards upholding the academic and moral integrity of the National Policy on Education and in line with the vision of the Federal Ministry of Education.The briefing reads in part:“A total of One Million, Nine Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand, Two Hundred and Fifty-Three (1,973,253) candidates from Twenty-Three Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty-Four (23,554) schools have presented candidates for the examination. Of this number, Nine Hundred and Seventy-Nine Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight (979,228) candidates are males, amounting to %, while Nine Hundred and Ninety-Four Thousand and Twenty-Five (994,025) candidates are females, which is % of the total candidature. The statistics show a further increase in the number of females and males, respectively, compared to last year.“However, on the roll, the candidacy for this year increased by One Hundred and Fifty-Eight Thousand, Six Hundred and Twenty-Seven (158,627) Candidates, they would be examined in Seventy-Four (74) subjects, made up of One Hundred and Ninety-Six (196) papers. About Twenty-Six Thousand (26,000) practising senior secondary school teachers, nominated by various Ministries of Education, would be participating in the examination as supervisors.“The National Identification Number (NIN) was made a component of the registration process. “The policy was implemented in compliance with the directive of the Federal Government. However, it was not made a compulsory requirement at the initial phase of the entries, to aid candidates’ease of registration and easy access to the portal. At the close of the registration exercise, candidates were still allowed to submit their NIN for upload on the Council’s registration portal. No candidate was found ineligible for registration as a result of non-submission of NIN during registration as all schools were required to upload their candidates’ NIN.Insecurity, the HNO concurred that several incidents had been recorded across the Country during the conduct of WASSCE over the years. He cited an instance, in a particular geopolitical zone, in during the conduct of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, there was a threat to a particular subject, but everything was later brought under control.“Conducting examinations in such situations have been challenging though surmounted. The Council has continued to partner with the Nigeria Police Force through the Inspector General of Police and the various State governments to provide adequate security to ensure the smooth and hitch-free conduct of the examination.In this regard, the Council remains grateful to State Governments for their partnership and collaborative efforts throughout the conduct of WASSCE and in the Council’s ongoing war against the menace of Examination Malpractice.“The Council decisively deals with examination malpractice of any kind. The penalties for involvement in examination malpractice will always, without compromise, be meted out to erring candidates, supervisors, schools, etc, as would be approved by the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC), which is the highest decision-making organ of the Council that sits on examination matters in Nigeria. The Council, on its part, has rolled out several awareness campaigns and organized seminars for school proprietors, principals, students and other key stakeholders through its Branch and Zonal offices nationwide to sensitize them on the effects of this evil. Similarly, the Council produced sensitization materials such as flyers, banners, posters and other forms of reminders to further keep the message afresh in the minds of all stakeholders, especially candidates sitting the examination.“Furthermore, the introduction of variations of papers, which I mentioned earlier, is an effort geared towards combating the menace of examination malpractice. Thus, candidates’ paper variations for the papers to be deployed for CB-WASSCE , have been preprinted according to their registration details. Any candidate who chooses to write a paper other than the one assigned to him or her, will be doing a disservice to himself or herself and will bear the attendant consequences. “A word is enough for the wise.’“It is therefore, on this note, that I call on parents and guardians to encourage their wards to study diligently and desist from engaging in any form of examination malpractice.”The mass media is hereby invited to continue to partner with the Council in its efforts against examination malpractice, as it is our collective responsibility. The various State Ministries of Education are also urged to call upon their principals, teachers and other officials serving as inspectors and/or supervisors to order.School principals and teachers should sensitize their students to the dangers of this terrible crime against humanity. Every candidate and examination functionary should familiarize themselves with the Rules guiding the conduct of the examination as stipulated in the WAEC Syllabus and Guidelines for the conduct of examinations, issued to schools. Erring schools whose candidates engaged in mass cheating will be derecognised; erring officials will be adequately punished, while erring candidates will be sanctioned if found culpable. Window for redress for candidates and schools who feel aggrieved with WAEC’s decision after the release of results may make representations trhoguh the website: https//“I would also like to state here that centres that have been derecognized by our sister organisations, that is, other examining bodies, remain derecognized for us too. This is no longer the time when a derecognized centre will run to another examining body for undue recognition”.Meanwhile , Dangut has sounded a note of stern warning to all operators of rogue websites that WAEC will not condone their heinous acts during the conduct of this examination.To this end, parents are hereby cautioned to desist from patronising these evildoers who are hell-bent on frustrating the efforts of WAEC. “Meanwhile, we shall, as usual, work hand-in-hand with the Nigerian Police Force to bring perpetrators to book. There will be no hiding place for them.”; he warned.I am certain that those who were tracked down and brought to book last year would have chosen to stay out of trouble if they had known how prepared we are for them. Please, do not fall victim because you may not be able to tell the story.The Council does not only conduct exam, but it’s also interested in the good performance of the candidates. As a way of assisting candidates prepare for the examination, the Council has recently added the following resources to be adopted by schools and individual students. The resources includes:Past Question Paper and Answer with Chief Examiners’Report BookletsThis is a compilation of past WASSCE questions with responses, the marking schemes and Chief Examiners’Report on the relevant examination diets, to aid candidates’ learning. These resources are available in the WASSCE Core Subjects, Arts Subjects, Science Subjects and Commercial Subjects as classified.The Chief Examiners’ Reports provided an overview of how candidates performed in examinations, while suggesting ways to improve performance.WAEC E-Study Portal:This is the approved exams preparatory platform, designed for candidates preparing to sit the WASSCE. The WAEC e-study platform enables schools, teachers and students to access past WASSCE questions (multiple-choice or theory-based), learning plans, marking schemes and performance insights. Candidates should visit to access the portal.WAEC has made available via its e-learning portal, resources that will equip candidates’ with the requirements and expectations needed to write and pass their examinations. Students’ performances in previous examinations are analyzed with the aim of highlighting candidates’ weaknesses and proffering solutions to assist candidates’ learning.WAEC KonnectSimilarly, the WAEC Konnect portal has been developed to enable candidates and stakeholders to interact with the Council, as well as with each other, in preparation for the examination. This will, in turn, help candidates to keep abreast of necessary information regarding the examination diet. Candidates can log on to to get started.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Syndigate.info
).