WAEC commences examination Tuesday, registers over 1.8 million candidates

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has registered 1,814,344 candidates for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.

The registered candidates are from 22,229 schools, according to the Head of the Nigeria National Office, Amos Dangut.

Speaking Monday during a press briefing at the council’s office in Lagos, Mr Dangut noted that the examination would occur between Tuesday, 30 April and Monday, 24 June, in Nigeria and three other African countries, spanning seven weeks and six days.

He said the candidature for 2024 increased by 192,948, and they would be examined in 76 subjects, comprised of 197 papers.

He added that about 30,000 senior secondary school teachers, nominated by various ministries of education, will supervise the examination.

2024 Examination

Mr Dangut further noted that the National Identification Number (NIN) was made a component of the registration process, in line with the directive of the Federal Government.

“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,” he said.

He noted that the results of candidates sitting the examination will be released 45 days after the conduct of the last paper. In comparison, certificates will be printed and issued to schools in less than 90 days after the release of results.

Mr Dangut added that results will be released along with the digital copies of candidates’ certificates, which can be accessed on the Digital Certificate platform.

He also said that to provide resource materials further to aid candidates’ learning, the examination body 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,” he said.

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Insecurity, malpractice, others

To ensure security during the examination, Mr Dangut said the council is collaborating with the police and state government.

He said: “Conducting examinations has been challenging. Instances of insecurity exist in many places across the country, and conducting tests 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.”

On malpractices, Mr Dangut reiterated that the council deals with candidates and examination functionaries who engage in acts of examination malpractice of any kind.

He said the penalties for involvement in examination malpractice are meted out on erring candidates, supervisors and schools upon establishment of culpability by the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC).

“The council, on its part, has rolled out several awareness campaigns nationwide and organised seminars for school proprietors, principals, students and other key stakeholders to sensitise them on the immediate and long-drawn effects of examination malpractice,” he said.

“Similarly, flyers, banners, posters, and other reminders to keep the message fresh in the minds of all stakeholders and candidates sitting the examination have been rolled out.”

He also warned that WAEC will not condone the “heinous acts” of all operators of rogue websites 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,” he said.