86,612 Candidates Make 5 Credits And Above In WAEC Released Result

Only 86,612 ( 29.17 per cent) out of the 296,827 candidates that sat for the November/December 2013 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) made the minimum benchmark of credits in five subjects including English and Mathematics.

Announcing the release of the result on Thursday at the council’s headquarters in Yaba, Lagos, the Head of Nigerian National Office (HNO), Mr. Charles Eguridu, said the performance was a marked decline in candidates’ performance compared to the last two years.

In 2011, 36.07 per cent made the benchmark, while in 2012 it rose to 37.97 per cent.

When asked what was responsible for the decline, Eguridu suggested that it may be because of the reduction in the quality of teaching and learning.

He, however, added that the council is planning workshops for interested state governments to learn tips on how to better prepare their candidates for the examination, particularly the May/June version.

“WAEC is a mirror. WAEC is not responsible for what happens in the school system. We are not supposed to regulate the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom. Perhaps there has not been proper learning on the part of learners and teaching on the part of teachers.

“However, to improve quality, from January next year, we will partner with state governments that are willing to open their doors to us to run a clinic to assist in giving them feedback on how candidates should be taught; how to do proper continuous assessment and how to answer questions,” he said.

Speaking on the council’s efforts to check examination malpractices, Eguridu said new scanning devices would be used in centres next year to prevent candidates from taking foreign objects into the examination halls.

“Beginning with the May/June 2014 WASSCE, the council is deploying cutting-edge technology in the conduct of its examinations, by using contactless Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Smart Card, for easy and accurate identification, automated attendance register, instant malpractice reporting and effective post examination management,” he said.

Giving more statistics, Eguridu said 38,260 candidates (12.88 per cent) have their results withheld because of complicity in examination malpractice. He said they will be investigated by the Nigerian Examinations Committee (NEC), the organ of the council that deals with the conduct of examinations.

Another 8,433 candidates also have some of their subjects not released due to technical errors that Eguridu said was likely caused by the candidates or cyber cafes where they registered.