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Tag: WAEC

  • Covid-19: FG considers alternatives to WAEC, schools reopening

    Covid-19: FG considers alternatives to WAEC, schools reopening

    The Federal Government on Thursday said final year secondary school students may have to sit for the General Certificate of Education in November if there is no shift in the timetable of the West African Examination Council.

    The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, said this while answering questions at the 52nd joint national briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.

    Nwajiuba said the government would meet with stakeholders again on July 30 to review the guidelines, provisions and preparations for safe reopening of schools.

    According to him, sitting for the GCE may become the only option for Nigerian students if the country cannot convince WAEC to shift its examinations as requested for by the Federal Government.

    He said: “Should Nigeria be able to meet up with the WAEC timetable, there is already a negotiated timeline to move local language subjects such as Ibo, Yoruba and Hausa behind to allow all participating countries the needed time to write the general subjects at the same time.

    “WAEC, unfortunately, is unable to wholesomely move the examination, but we have also worked out a negotiated timeline with WAEC on what we call peculiar Nigerian subjects which in the language of WAEC are subjects that are only held in Nigeria such as Ibo, Hausa and Yoruba.

    “The Ghanaians will take examinations peculiar to them.

    “But they are all in the first part of the timetable.

    “So, we will work out a domestication module that will take our peculiar subjects behind after we have done general subjects.”

    When asked to comment on the Oyo State Government that cancelled third term, the Minister said: “Education is on the concurrent list and while the states are expected to work together on common front, especially on the COVID-19 crisis, they are at liberty to evolve some measures on their own.”

  • Suspension of WAEC puts Nigeria at more risk, says Atiku

    Suspension of WAEC puts Nigeria at more risk, says Atiku

    Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the suspension of the 2020 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) by the Federal Government.

    Atiku’s reaction comes two days after the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu announced that no Unity Schools will participate in the scheduled WAEC exams.

    Speaking after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, the Minister asked the examination body and the state governments to reconsider their decision to open for exams.

    In a statement he personally signed on Friday, Atiku said the cancellation will put the country at more risks.

    He pointed out that 1.5 million Nigerian youths write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination annually, adding that the abrupt cancellation of “this examination is to set back our nation’s youth, and place them behind their contemporaries in other West African nations.”

    “I urge this administration to take into account that the lives they are trying to save will be further put at risk, because if this policy is not reversed, tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, will breach social distancing rules to cross over to neighbouring West African nations to write their WASSCE, rather than miss a year,” the statement partly read.

    The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections noted that the move by the Nigerian government to curb the COVID-19 pandemic is not in the nation’s best interest.

    This, he noted, is because the Federal Government unilaterally took the decision “without consultation, and thoughtful action,” arguing that it “may be counterproductive.”

    “This is perilous because Foreign Direct Investments and other economic indicators are tied to the educational indexes of nations.

    “Already, Nigeria lags behind other African nations in crucial indices, like school enrolment, pass rates, and out of school children. This action will further create chaos in the public education system and exacerbate an already bad situation,” he said.

    On the way forward, Atiku wants the Federal and state governments to mobilise all available public and private infrastructures including primary schools, stadia, and cinemas, for the examinations.

    In doing this, he also called on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to “prevail on WAEC to have a staggering examination with a different set of questions for each shift.”

    In doing this, the PDP chieftain believes that the government’s directives on social distancing will be achieved while candidates sit for their examination, thus describing the move as “a win-win scenario.”

  • BREAKING: Nigerian Students Won’t Write 2020 WAEC – FG

    BREAKING: Nigerian Students Won’t Write 2020 WAEC – FG

    Final year secondary school students in Nigeria won’t participate in the forthcoming West African Examination Council(WAEC) examinations, the Federal Government has declared.

    The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who disclosed this to State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the week’s virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, also said there is no date for school resumption yet.

    He said he would prefer Nigerian students to lose an academic year to expose them to dangers.

    He said he would prefer that Nigerian students lose an academic year than to expose them to dangers.

    He appealed to States that have announced the resumption of school in their states to reconsider their position so as not to jeopardize the lives of the students, adding, “It is not safe to reopen schools now.”

     

  • WAEC restricts exam towns for WASSCE second series

    WAEC restricts exam towns for WASSCE second series

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has opened registration for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2020 – Second Series with a note to candidates to check the examination towns’ list before registering.

     

    According to the advert for the examination signed by the Council’s Head of National Office (HNO), Mr. Patrick Areghan, 36 subjects would be examined during the examination, which does not have a fixed date yet because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

     

    Usually, the examination holds between August and October every year.

     

    The online registration is open until July 31, 2020.

     

    However, Areghan warned interested candidates to find out if their preferred location would be listed as examination towns as only urban centres would be used for the examination.

     

    “The examination will be urban-based and will be conducted at a period to be announced in due course. Thirty-Six (36) subjects would be available for the examination. Intending candidates are advised to visit the Council’s corporate website – www.waecnigeria.org to confirm available examination towns and subjects before obtaining the registration PIN,” he said.

     

    Lagos has the highest number of examination towns listed – 27 – followed by Ogun with 16, and Rivers State with 13.

     

    While registration for the examination cost N13,950, those who register after the deadline as ‘walk-in candidates, would have to pay N30,500 to write the examination as long as they register a day before the paper they desire to write.

     

     

     

    “Candidates, who wish to register for the examination after the close of entries may be accommodated as ‘Walk-in-Candidates’, provided they register not less than twenty four hours to the scheduled time of the paper(s) they intend to write. The ‘Walk-in-Candidates’ fee is N30, 500.00 only.

     

    The HNO said once candidates access the site, they must conclude their registration

  • BREAKING: Court discharges Sen. Adeleke‎ over alleged exams malpractices

    BREAKING: Court discharges Sen. Adeleke‎ over alleged exams malpractices

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke in the alleged examination malpractices trial involving him and four others.

    Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling on Friday, said he was minded to discharge Adeleke in view of the prosecution’s decision to withdraw charges against him.

    ‎Justice Ekwo elected to continue with the trial of the other four co-defendants in the case, who were re-arraigned on Thursday on a seven-count amended charge filed in the name of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

    Background:

    Adeleke was arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja in October 2018 along with Sikiru Adeleke (who is said to be the senator’s relative), Alhaji Aregbesola Mufutau (a head teacher), Gbadamosi Thomas Ojo (registrar) and Dare Samuel Olutope (a teacher).

    Read Also: Bank Manager arraigned on charges of financial malpractices
    Ademola and Sikiru were accused of fraudulently registering as students of Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School, Ojo-Aro, Osun State, to enable them sit for the National Examinations Council (NECO) examination of June/July 2017.

    The other three defendants were accused of aiding the commission of the alleged offence.

    At the resumed hearing on Thursday, prosecution lawyer Simon Lough said the state had amended the charge to exclude Adeleke following his continued absence in court.

  • May/June 2020 WASSCE not cancelled, says WAEC

    May/June 2020 WASSCE not cancelled, says WAEC

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC)says the May/June 2020 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, 2020 (WASSCE), has not been cancelled.

    In a statement by the Head of WAEC, Nigeria, Mr Patrick Areghan, on Sunday, the body explained that a notice alleging the cancellation of 2020 WASSCE did not emanate from the council.

    The council said it was the handwork of mischief makers and consequently, false and misleading.

    “Our attention has been drawn to a fake publication circulating in the social media, to the effect that the WAEC has cancelled the conduct of the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2020, as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and was therefore, set to refund N22,500 to candidates who had enrolled for the examination.

    ”The publication is patently false and deceitful.

    ” It is nothing but the handiwork of mischief makers who are out to defraud innocent and unsuspecting candidates and their parents/guardians.

    ”This piece of news is certainly not from the WAEC. It falls short of the council’s style, language and factual details. They got it all wrong.

    “To begin with, the fee for the examination is N13,950 only and not N22,500.

    ”WAEC, as an examining body in the sub-region, has not announced the cancellation of the examination.

    ”It only announced a postponement until normalcy is restored. WAEC couldn’t have made a mistake in the full meaning of its acronym.

    ”We wish to use this opportunity to reassure all registered candidates, schools and other stakeholders that once the situation returns to normal, the council will come up with a new International Timetable for the conduct of the examination in the West African sub-region.

    ”This will take effect after due consultations with relevant stakeholders. Candidates are, therefore, advised to disregard the publication and concentrate on studying hard for the examination,” the WAEC boss said.(

  • No WAEC, NECO until after COVID-19 lockdown – FG

    The Nigerian Government has announced the postponement of this year’s Senior School Certificate Examination organised by the West African Examinations Council and National Examinations Council due to Coronavirus outbreak.

    According to Emeka Nwajubu, Minister of State for Education, government has made provisions for students to learn online.

    He said, “WAEC and NECO for the year have been postponed indefinitely.

    “The students can learn online, we have made a lot of provision for that. The director of FCT has also opened a portal for the process

    “We are working with the Ministry of Information to escalate education content to provide for everyone at home.

    “Our biggest challenge is to reach children who do not have devices but we are working with radio corporations to instil some of that for primary and secondary students.”

  • BREAKING: WAEC postpones examination over Coronavirus

    The 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination has been postponed indefinitely.

    The West African Examinations Council made this known in a statement on Friday.

    The statement quoted WAEC Nigeria’s Head of National Office, Mr. Patrick Areghan, as saying that the examination scheduled to begin April 6, 2020, was postponed as a result of coronavirus pandemic.

    Areghan said the timetable for the examination would be reviewed after the coronavirus pandemic situation improves.

    The statement read, “The West African Examinations Council in Nigeria, nay, the West African sub-region, has decided to put on hold the conduct of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination for School Candidates, 2020, earlier scheduled to commence on April 6, 2020.

    “This is as a result of the impact of the novel and deadly Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the serious implications it has for the conduct of the WASSCE for school candidates, 2020, coupled with the anxieties it has generated among the populace.

    “This decision is a demonstration of the organisation’s concern and support for the various protocols being put in place by the Federal and State Governments of Nigeria and the governments of the other member countries to check the spread of the disease.”

  • Exam malpractices: WAEC blacklists 165 schools in Kwara, sanctions State Government

    …Gov. Abdulrazaq issues stern warnings to school heads

    West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has blacklisted no fewer than 165 schools in Kwara state for alleged involvement malpractices in 2019 WAEC.

    Besides, the examination body also penalized the state government financially for the action of the schools, it was gathered.

    The examinations were held between 8th April and 31st May, 2019. The development — the worst in the history of the state — affected 122 public secondary schools and 43 private schools, each fined N250,000, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has said.

    Accordingly, Mallam AbdulRazaq has threatened heavy sanctions against any school heads or officials caught aiding and abetting examination malpractices.

    “This administration is sad to note that WAEC has derecognised 165 schools in Kwara because of widespread cases of cheating in the 2019 senior secondary certificate examination in which some top education officials and parents were implicated. This is very unfortunate and this administration will not hesitate to sanction any school heads or officials that ever engage in such conduct in the future,” Rafiu Ajakaye, chief press secretary to the Governor, said in a statement on Thursday.

    “The administration also urges parents to desist from encouraging cheating in the examination. We call on Kwarans to expose this cancer. As a result of such incidents of aiding and abetting of examination malpractices, this administration will now have to pay N30.5m of scarce public resources to get the necessary approval for the affected public schools to host WAEC examinations in the future. This is avoidable. Examination malpractice constitutes some of the worst hindrance to a bright future because it negates the time tested principles of hard work, diligence, and thirst for knowledge and excellence.”

    The statement said such unhealthy trend and other shortcomings in the sector explain why the government is organising an education summit in the first quarter of 2020 to discuss all the issues affecting the sector and come up with practicable roadmap and reform options.

  • WAEC withdraws certificates of 10 candidates over impersonation [Names Attached]

    The West African Examinations Council has withdrawn the certificates of ten candidates who were alleged to have been involved in examination malpractices.

    The certificates of the candidates withdrawn included those who wrote the examination between December 1992 to 2014.

    The names of the affected candidates, their examination years and certificate numbers were published on the Monday bulletin of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

    The JAMB bulletin was released to reporters by the board’s Head of Information, Dr. Fabian Benjamin in Abuja yesterday.

    The bulletin identified impersonation as the nature of the malpractices allegedly perpetrated by the candidates, leading to the withdrawal of their certificates.

    Some of the candidates affected include: Ukaumunna C. December 1992 examination with certificate number, NGSP 0233613; Chinna H. December 1993 with certificate number, NGSP 0572427; Koffi E. December 1993, with number NGSP 0455669 and Oham J. December 1994, with certificate number, NGSP 0177271.

    Others are: Mbara G. December 2001, with certificate WNR 2248072; Ifo S. December 2001, with number NGWASSCP 1307367; Ugwu P. December 2005 with certificate, NGWASSCP 4534182; Anene J. December 2008, with number, NGWASSCP 5505913; Ogbenna C. December 2011, with certificate number, NGWASSCP 06927486; and Nwangwu I. December 2014, with certificate number, NGWASSCP 8392056.i

    JAMB noted that it had partnered with the National Identity Management Commission to enforce candidates’ registration for the National Identity Number, in order to avoid such impersonations.

    The board said: “In view of the cases listed that JAMB’s partnership with NIMC is imperative. In order to have a seamless registration for the 2020 UTME, we have put machinery in place to test run the new registration regime under the joint platform of JAMB and NIMC using the NIN.

    “The Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, sequel to this, therefore directed members of staff in offices nationwide to participate in the trial registration which started Friday, November 29, and is to end Tuesday, December 3. No fewer than 1,800 members of staff would be involved in the trial registration designed to assess the workability of the new registration regime.”