WAEC affirms it's preparedness in conducting the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, 2024 in Nigeria.

 

ADDRESS BY HEAD OF THE NIGERIA NATIONAL OFFICE OF THE WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL (WAEC), ON THE CONDUCT OF WASSCE FOR SCHOOL CANDIDATES, 2024 AT A PRESS BRIEFING HELD ON MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024 AT THE NIGERIA NATIONAL OFFICE, YABA, LAGOS

The West African Examinations Council, as you all know, is the foremost examination body in Africa, and continues to maintain its reputation as a global brand, especially in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to solve myriads of problems to improve service delivery to the Nigerian child. The latest achievement was the conduct of the WASSCE for private candidates using the Computer-based model. 

Distinguished Gentlemen of the Press, I am delighted to inform you that WASSCE for School Candidates, 2024 will take place between Tuesday, April 30 and Monday, June 24, 2024 in Nigeria, spanning seven (07) weeks and six (06) days. The examination will be conducted in four WAEC member countries, namely: Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra-Leone and Liberia.

 A total of One  Million,  Eight  Hundred and Fourteen Thousand,  Three Hundred and Forty-Four (1,814,344) candidates from Twenty-Two Thousand Two Hundred and Twenty-Nine ( 22,229) schools have registered for the examination.  Out of this number, Nine Hundred and Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Twenty-Eight (902,328) are males, amounting to 49.73%, while Nine Hundred and Twelve Thousand, and Sixteen (912,016) are females, which is 50.27% 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 whole, the candidature for this year increased by One Hundred and Ninety-Two Thousand, Nine Hundred and Forty-Eight (192,948).  

Candidates would be examined in Seventy-six (76) subjects, made up of One Hundred and Ninety-Seven (197) papers. About Thirty Thousand (30,000) practicing senior secondary school teachers, nominated by various Ministries of Education, will supervise the examination.

In line with the directive of the Federal Government, the National Identification Number (NIN) was made a component of the registration process. Throughout the registration exercise, the registration portal allowed candidates to submit their NIN.

Gentlemen of the Press, we cannot feign ignorance of the level of insecurity in the country.  Conducting examinations has been challenging. Instances of insecurity exist in many places across the Country, and conducting examinations in insecurity-prone areas would require extra security arrangements.  Consequently, we are liaising with the Inspector General of Police and State governments to provide adequate security to ensure that the examination is conducted nationally in a safe and secure environment. 

The Council appreciates the continued support received from the Nigeria Police as partners in actualizing its goals during the conduct of its examinations.

Gentlemen, let me remind you that the Council decisively deals with candidates and examination functionaries who engage in acts of examination malpractice of any kind. The penalties for involvement in examination malpractice are meted out on erring candidates, supervisors and schools, etc, upon establishment of culpability 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 nationwide, and organized seminars for school proprietors, principals, students and other key stakeholders, to sensitize them on the immediate and long-drawn effects of examination malpractice. Similarly, flyers, banners, posters and other forms of reminders to further keep the message fresh in the minds of all stakeholders and candidates sitting the examination have been rolled out.

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 must come in handy, as the effort to rid our nation of this menace is a collective responsibility. The various Ministries of Education should call their principals, teachers and other officials serving as inspectors and/or supervisors, to order. School principals and teachers should sensitize their students on the dangers of this terrible crime against humanity. Every candidate and examination functionary must play by the rules, which are well stipulated in the WAEC examination Syllabuses and Guidelines for the conduct of examination, issued to schools.  Erring schools would be derecognised; erring officials would be adequately punished, while erring candidates would lose their results, if found culpable.

We also want to sound a note of warning to all operators of rogue websites that WAEC will not condone their heinous acts during the conduct of the examination. Parents are hereby cautioned to desist from patronising these evil-doers who are hell-bent on frustrating the efforts of WAEC

To further provide resource materials to aid candidates’ learning, WAEC has now introduced a compilation of past questions with the marking schemes. With this development, we hope candidates will use the booklets to enhance their study and preparedness for the examination.

As many of you are already aware, WAEC has made available its e-learning portal as to assist candidates by providing learning materials that would equip them with the requirements and expectations needed to write and pass their examination with a view to proffering general guidance to teachers and other stakeholders. Students’ performances on previous examinations are analyzed, with regard to their general strengths and weaknesses, providing expert advice on the requirements for answering WASSCE questions. Candidates should visit https://WAEConline.org.ng for this servii

Similarly, the WAEC Konnect portal has been developed to enable candidates and stakeholders to interact with the Council, as well as with each one another. This will, help candidates to keep abreast with every necessary information regarding the examination diet. Candidates can log on to https://www.waeckonnect.com/ to get started.

Gentlemen of the press, in tune with our recent tradition, the results of candidates sitting the examination will be released 45 days after the conduct of the last paper, while certificates will be printed and issued to schools in less than Ninety (90) days after the release of results. Meanwhile, results will be released along with the digital copies of candidates’ certificates, which can be accessed on the Digital Certificate platform. 

All hands are on deck to ensure that WASSCE for School Candidates, 2024, is hitch-free. However, non-adherence to the registration deadline is still a lingering challenge in preparation for examinations. It may surprise you to hear that even though entries were floated by December 5, 2023, and the registration exercise was scheduled to finally end on April 3, 2024, the Council continued to extend its deadline on registration until late April, due to requests from different stakeholders. Such actions impact negatively on the preparation of pre-examination, examination and post-examination material.

The West African Examinations Council, being a foremost examining body, adding value to the educational goals of its stakeholders, has not rested on its oars, since the past seventy-two years of its existence. The Council has continued to improve its service delivery across the board, by optimally leveraging Information Communication Technology (ICT) in a fast-growing and fast-paced digital world.  Great strides have been made in the following areas:

The Nigeria National Office of the Council launched the Educational Statistics (EDUSTAT) platform. This platform provides stakeholders with reports showing detailed analysis and data.  Users can log on to www.waec.edustat.ng to benefit thereof.

The platform is very useful for researchers, organizations and governments at all levels.  

The WAEC Digital Certificate Platform allows candidates, who sat the WASSC examination between 1999 to date to access, confirm and share their results as captured on their certificates WAEC informs all stakeholders that it will no longer provide manual confirmation or stamping of candidates certificates. Organizations and institutions are hereby encouraged to familiarize themselves with the platform

The Council offers very reliable Computer Testing services at the WAEC Testing and Training Centre that boasts state-of-the-art facilities. The facilities have been utilized by many governmental and non-governmental organizations for the conduct of their recruitment exercises, as well as the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board’s examinations.   

The Aptitude Tests Department of the West African Examinations Council delivers reliable and standardized computer (

online) and paper-based aptitude testing services to stakeholders. Contact the department for:

Recruitment Tests

Promotion Tests

Entrance Tests

Guidance Tests

Scholarship Tests and 

Conduct of interviews. 

via aptitudetests@waec.org.ng

Furthermore, the general public can now gain access to all WAEC services online and in real-time through the WAEC Request Management Portal (WAEC CHATBOT) by logging onto www.request.waec.org, or, chat with the Council via WhatsApp, with the following numbers: 

- 08179439269

- 07061741253

This platform provides tertiary institutions and other establishments, access to the WAEC database for the verification of prospective students’/applicants’ results. 

Gentlemen of the Press, we are set for the conduct of WASSCE for School Candidates, in 2024 in Nigeria. The Council also, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, the State Ministries of Education, the Nigeria Police, other security agencies and other stakeholders, to deliver, on its mandate to conduct a credible examinations to the Nigerian Child and the general public.

We remain ever grateful to the Honourable Minister of Education, the Honourable Minister of State, for Education, all the State Ministries of Education, the Inspector-General of Police, and indeed, all our stakeholders, for their usual support and cooperation, even as we count on them once again.

Finally, Gentlemen of the Media, we cherish your partnership and we charge you to collaborate partner with us to ensure the successful conduct of the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2024.

All thanks and glory to God.

God bless us all.