…..With 1,814,344 Candidates From HNO
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), has announced the commencement of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, 2024 in Nigeria on Tuesday, 30th April, 2024.
The Head of Nigeria National Office of the WAEC, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut disclosed this at a press conference on Monday in Lagos.
According to him, a total of 1,814,344 candidates from 22,229 schools registered for the examination. “Out of this number, 902,328 are males, amounting to 49.73%, while 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 192, 948,” he said.
He explained further that candidates would be examined in 76) subjects, made up of 197 papers and about 30,000 practicing senior secondary school teachers, nominated by various Ministries of Education, will supervise the examination.
Noting that all hands are on deck to ensure that WASSCE for School Candidates, 2024, is hitch-free, Dr Dangut however added that 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 of registration until late April, due to requests from different stakeholders.
Such actions impact negatively on the preparation of pre-examination, examination and post-examination materials.”
On insecurity, the HNO said the Council cannot feign ignorance of the level of insecurity in the country. “That is why 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,” he stated.
Stating that the Council won’t condole examination malpractice of any sort, Mr. Dangut said 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.
He added that 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.”
The HNO also warned Rogue Website Operators 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.”
“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.
