Tag: WASSCE

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has urged the public to disregard viral messages claiming that the results of certain schools have been cancelled.

Moyosola Adesina, Head, Public Affairs, who spoke in an interview with NAN, described the reports as lies warning that the information was not from any official or accredited source.

Adesina advised candidates, parents, and school administrators to verify any information they received and not to fall for rumours spreading on social media or unverified platforms.

“Kindly ignore any message listing schools whose results were supposedly cancelled,” she said.

The official added that the claim that some examination centres were asked to bring candidates’ scripts to WAEC office was false.

“WAEC will never ask any centre to bring scripts of candidates to the office, all scripts remain under strict custody throughout the marking and investigation process.

“The Council stressed that all official announcements are made only through its verified social media handles and accredited media channels.

“Do not accept any message that is not on our handles and accredited media. WAEC is calling on the public to stay informed through trusted sources,” she added.

The council reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and due process in handling examination matters and encouraged the public to report suspicious messages or sources.

It also reassured candidates awaiting their results that any delay or investigation was being handled with fairness and professionalism.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has apologised for delay in conducting  English Language Paper 2 in the ongoing 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The examination  took place on Wednesday evening.

In a statement by Moyosola Adesina, Acting Head of Public Affairs Department of
WAEC, the council said that it encountered challenges.

”While maintaining the integrity and security of our examination, we faced considerable challenges primarily due to our major aim of preventing leakage of any paper.

“We recognise the importance of timely conduct of examinations and the impact of this decision on candidates, their schools and parents, and we sincerely apologise for any inconveniences caused,” WAEC stated.

It said that it successfully achieved its objective but it inadvertently impacted the timeliness and seamless conduct of the examination.

“In spite our best efforts, we encountered logistical hurdles, security concerns and socio-cultural factors that negatively influenced our operations,” WAEC said.

The council re-affirmed its committment to upholding the highest standard in examination conduct, and pledged to continue to promote academic excellence.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced the schedule for the Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2024 – Second Series.

The examination body, in a statement on Tuesday, noted the hybrid mode of delivering the examination will begin from Friday, October 25 to Friday, December 20, 2024.

The Council added that this optional writing mode will give the candidates the opportunity to choose between Computer-Based Tests (CBT) and traditional Paper-Based Tests (PBT).

“The examination will adopt the hybrid mode of delivering the examination, which implies that the objective or multiple-choice questions would be rendered on-screen and candidates would be required to give their responses on the screen, while the essay and practical questions will be rendered on-screen, likewise, but candidates would have to give their responses using the answer booklets provided.
“The examination diet has provided an option for candidates who may wish to use Paper and Pen mode for all examination papers,” it said.

The examination also noted that the registration period for the examination had been extended to Tuesday, October 29, 2024.

“On this note, the Council wishes to inform all intending candidates that the registration period has been extended to Tuesday, October 29, 2024,” it said.

It added that all intending, as well as registered, candidates should take advantage of the numerous learning resources provided by the Council.

“All intending, as well as registered, candidates are advised to take advantage of the numerous learning resources provided by the Council. These include signing up on the WAEC e-Study platform purchasing the WAEC Past Questions and Answers books, and joining other candidates to interact, on the WAECKonnect platform.

“WAEC wishes all candidates for the examination success. The Council will always seek ways of delivering on its mandate by deploying technological innovations to make its services easily accessible to all stakeholders,” the Council stated.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Saturday said its maiden Computer Based Test (CBT) for WASSCE first series, for private candidates, would eliminate the major source of examination malpractice.

The council’s Head of National Office (HNO), Dr Amos Josiah Dangut stated this while monitoring the examination in some centres in Lagos.

Recall that council had stated its readiness to conduct the maiden edition of West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) first series  for private candidates, using the CBT platform.

The examination commenced on Jan. 31 and would be concluded on Feb. 17.

Dangut said that prior to the introduction of the CBT, the contents of the examination were usually let out before the test through some mischief makers who might have a role to play during the examination.

“So, I think with the introduction of this CBT, the issue of candidates having fore knowledge before the commencement of the examination will largely have been eliminated. It can no longer be business as usual.

“The major avenue, source of leakage, where we used to have supervisors carry these question papers from one point to the other will no longer obtain.

“When I say leakage, I mean the tearing of the bag containing the examination questions and sneaking out one. So, with this new concept, this will never happen.

“Again, you can see with the sitting arrangements that the candidates are also separated with cubicles that will not enable them to engage in any form of examination malpractice, coupled with the fact that they have to be dealing with different subjects at the point in time,” he said.

The council boss explained that given the CBT mode of examination, one does not need a special software to check examination malpractice, because the questions vary from one candidate to the other.

Dangut said that so far, the process had been encouraging, as there had not been any reported case of infraction or technical hitch recorded across the designated centres for the examination nationwide.

According to him, the council prepared well, did a lot of sensitisation, and gave the candidates the opportunity to try hands-on before the commencement of the examination.

He said that power supply would not affect the examination as the council had made two alternative arrangements outside public supply.

The HNO said that power was critical in choosing all the centres engaged to conduct the test.

He said that the council was not on the general internet and was using the intranet for the conduct of the examination.

“Today, the general Mathematics is taking place and as you can see, everything is moving on smoothly.

“The systems are top notch, with zero hitches recorded since the commencement of the examination on Jan. 31.

“This examination is being conducted simultaneously across the 36 states of the federation and the  Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“We have about 8,350 candidates sitting for this examination as of today, because we have opportunity for people who want to register and start their own examination the next day.

“We call such candidates ‘walk in candidates’ and because of that too, the entry keeps going up everyday.

“For example, last week, when we were having the briefing exercise, we had about 8,230 candidates, but like I said before, as we speak, we have over 8,350 in all, because of the ‘walk in’ candidates.

“Candidates who would want to sit for a paper on Monday are doing their registration today. They will have to register at least 24 hours before the commencement of the paper they intend to be examined on,” he said.

The HNO added that  the WAEC Test and Training Centre (WTTC) at Ogba was one of the 10 centres being used  for the examination in Lagos.

According to him, the council is optimistic that it will have a successful outing of the maiden edition of the WASSCE CBT for private candidates, given the state of its readiness.

He said that the council had interacted with the stakeholders and they had all expressed delight at the development.

“You know, perception has a lot to do with performance. The stakeholders had anticipated very well and the result is what we are getting so far.

“We have said right from onset that this is a hybrid examination. The objective questions are beamed on the screen and are answered on the screen.

“But for essay, just like this general Mathematics paper 2, you will find out that have answer booklet provided for them where they are expected to do their calculations but the questions too are beamed on the screen. That is what makes it hybrid mode,” he stated.

Dr Dangut said that results of the examination were expected to be out 45 days after the last paper.

He expressed optimism that the second series of the WASSCE for private candidates that would begin in November would also be taken through the CBT mode.

“We are encouraged with what we have now for this maiden edition. We sat on the drawing board, got our act right and that is why we are able to deploy the computer mode for this examination.

“So, after this one, we will also go back to the drawing board and together strategise for the second series.

Some of the candidates who participated in the examination said it gave them the opportunity to have a feel of what obtains with other computer based tests in the age of technology.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) says there is no going back on  conducting its first ever Computer Based Test (CBT) of its WASSCE for private candidates.

The council’s Head of National Office (HNO) Dr Amos Josiah Dangut stated this at a media parley on Monday in Lagos.

According to him, arrangements for the conduct of the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate  Examination (WASSCE) first series for private candidates,  using the first ever CBT model have been concluded.

“We are here to give you an insight of the level of preparations so far, for the conduct of this maiden CBT examination.

“The council  is aware that the news of this innovation was initially greeted with some level of resistance. This only served as fuel for the test body to forge ahead on its course to conduct the CB-WASSCE.

“The conduct of the Computer Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2024 First Series, will take place from Wednesday, Jan. 31 and end on Saturday, Feb. 17, in Nigeria.

“This will span a period of two weeks and four days and to this end, there is no going back as plans  have therefore,  been concluded for this first-ever computer-based examination, which will be delivered in hybrid mode,” he said.

The HNO noted that WAEC Nigeria, in keeping with its vision of being a world-class examining body and its core value of innovation, had taken the bold step to offer candidates a viable alternative to the Pen and Paper model of examinations.

According to him, this is in line with  giving its stakeholders and publics, a view of the great potentials that exists in the computer-based approach to assessments.

Speaking further on,  the council boss stated that  the hybrid mode entailed that, the Objective or Multiple Choice questions, would be rendered on-screen and candidates were required to give their responses on the screen.

“The Essay and Practical questions will be rendered on-screen, likewise, but candidates will be required to give their responses using the answer booklets provided.

“The council  is encouraged by the acceptance of this innovation as evidenced in the number of entries received so far.

“As of today, Monday, Jan 29, a total of 8,285 candidates from across the federation  have registered for the examination.

“Out of this number, 3,949 are male, representing 47.66 per cent, while 4,336  are female,  representing 52.3 per cent  of the total candidature.

“Candidates will be examined in 19 subjects, made up of 26 papers.

“For the successful conduct of the examination and to curb examination malpractices, carefully selected examination officials have been trained by council to serve as proctors during the conduct of the examination,” he said.

Dangut noted that WAEC in a bid to further deliver on its mandate and as a way of helping candidates, had made available, its e-learning portal with materials that would demonstrate to candidates, the requirements for the conduct of the examination.

He urged candidates to  visit https://www.waeconline.org.ng/e-Learning/index.htm  to access the portal.

According to him, in addition, a tutorial video on how to navigate the examination portal is available on all council’s social media platforms.

He added that candidates could  also use the video to acquaint themselves with relevant information on demand and upon enquiry.

The council boss noted that  the results of candidates who would sit for the examination would  be released 45 days after the conduct of the last paper, while duly awarded certificates would be available on request via certrequest.waec.org.ng.

According to him, similarly, candidates can access digital copies of their certificates via the WAEC Digital Certificate portal by logging on to www.waec.org.

He noted that the CBT centres where the examination would be hosted across the nation were inspected with checklists and equipped with servers for the duration of the conduct of the examination.

He noted that trial tests were conducted across the country and a free mock examination also conducted for registered candidates on  Jan. 23 and Jan. 24.

The council boss added that the final  international timetable for the conduct of the examination had been made available for proper and necessary guidance to prospective candidates.

“In addition to the wide publicity that has been given to the examination via mass media outlets, social media has also been abuzz with news of the CB-WASSCE and the modalities for the conduct.

“WAEC, being the foremost examining body, adding value to the educational goals of its stakeholders, has not rested on its oars, since the past 71 years of its existence.

“It has continued to improve its service delivery across the board by leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the dynamic industry of assessment,”  he said.