The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced the release of the results for the 2024 April/June diet of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.
According to the examination body, a total of 1,332,089, representing 73.79 per cent, of the 1,805,216 candidates that successfully sat the examination, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects.
1,301,941 candidates, representing 72.12 per cent, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
WAEC’s Head of Nigeria Office (HNO), Amos Dangut, announced the results on Monday at a press briefing, noting that the statistics for 2024 represent a decrease of 7.6 per cent in performance when compared to 2023.
Of the total 1,805,216896,894 students who sat the examination, Mr Dangut said 896,894 were males while 908,322 were females, representing 49.68 per cent and 50.32 per cent, respectively.
Mr Dangut noted that the examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, where the Nigerian curriculum for Senior Secondary Schools is being used.
He said 109,115 candidates with varying degrees of Special Needs registered for the examination. 145 were visually challenged, 473 had impaired hearing, 44 were spastic cum mentally challenged and 38 were physically challenged.
Withheld results
Mr Dangut further noted that the results of 215,267 candidates, representing 11.92 per cent of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.
“This is 4.37 per cent lower than the 16.29 per cent recorded in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2023,” he said.
“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organised cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues.”
He noted that all the cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate committee of the Council for consideration and final decisions.
“The council will continue to sanction all cases of examination malpractice as schools, supervisors, teachers and candidates perpetrating this evil are not helping the educational system. All hands must, therefore, be on deck to sanitise the system,” he said.
Challenges
Security concerns, non-adherence to the registration deadline, inflation and rogue website operators, according to Mr Dangut, are the major challenges encountered around the conduct of the examination.
He said: “The “Sit-at-home” order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB) and the industrial action embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), coincided with the days major papers would be written.
“The rate of inflation in the country has affected the cost of everything and the Council is not excluded as this has greatly added to the challenges we are facing in terms of the cost of conducting examinations.
“During the course of inspection, activities of rogue website operators did not go unnoticed as some of these miscreants are already having a taste of their pudding. A few supervisors and invigilators who were caught aiding and abetting examination malpractice were also brought to book.”
Source: PREMIUM TIMES
