The West African Exams Council (WAEC) says its 2021 West African Graduate Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school applicants, originally scheduled for May / June, may not hold. .
The head of the National Office (HNO) of the Council, Mr. Patrick Areghan, gave the information by announcing the release of the results of the first round of WASSCE 2021 for private candidates on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to Areghan, the effect of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is still being strongly felt in the education sector.
He noted that the entire education schedule has been distorted and therefore it may not be possible to conduct the review as planned.
“Allow me to take this opportunity to dispel the rumors, spread by some people regarding the unfolding of WASSCE for School Students, 2021.
“The effect of COVID-19 is still very much felt in the education sector and it has had adverse consequences on the country’s academic calendar.
“It will therefore not be possible to take the exam in May / June of this year.
The HNO said that a practical international timetable for the conduct of this exam will be published shortly.
“To this effect, therefore, all stakeholders are urged to keep their fingers crossed until they hear directly from WAEC,” said the head of WAEC.
He then appealed to all Principals and Owners of Schools to meet the deadlines for registering candidates for the exam.
Mr Areghan said it is important to re-emphasize the role of Continuous Assessment Scores (CASS) in calculating candidate results.
Giving a breakdown of the results, Areghan said that 7,690 candidates sat for the exam which took place between February 15 and March 11.
He noted that of this figure, 7,289 candidates actually sat for the exam in 252 centers across the country.
According to him, the drop in the figure is attributable to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that of the 7,289 candidates who sat for the exam, the results of 599 were withheld due to various reported cases of professional misconduct on the exam.
According to him, 7,174 candidates had their results fully processed and published, while another 115 had a few of their subjects still being processed due to errors that were traceable to them.
He said efforts were being made to complete the processing to allow all affected applicants to have their results fully processed and subsequently published.
Analysis of candidate performance statistics showed that among those who took the exam, a total of 3,938 obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects with or without English language and / or mathematics.
A total of 2,195 others obtained credits or more in a minimum of five subjects, including English and Mathematics.
Twenty-three candidates with varying degrees of special needs registered for the exam.
Of these, six are visually impaired, two are hearing impaired, five are albinos, one is mentally impaired, and nine are physically impaired.
Areghan said all candidates with special needs were adequately supported in administering the exam.
He added that their results had also been processed and published along with those of other candidates.
He advised candidates who took the exam to check the details of their performance on the board’s website – www.waecdirect.org.
The collection of certificates for WASSCE for private applicants, he said, would be based on an online application through the Electronic Certificate Management System (e-certman) platform.
Areghan said details of the straightforward procedures had already been made available to the public.
