By ENIOLA DANIEL

The West African Examination Council has released the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results for private candidates.

Announcing the release at the WAEC National Headquarters, Yaba Lagos, Head, the Nigeria National Office Of The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Patrick Areghan, said that a total number 61,509 candidates sat for the exam while 31,751 candidates obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects.

In his words, “the examination was simultaneously and successfully conducted throughout the five-member countries of WAEC – Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, using one and the same international timetable.

The conduct of the examination took place between Monday, November 23rd, 2020, and Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020. Coordination of examiners and marking of candidates’ scripts were carried out 10 selected marking venues across the country in the month of January. A total of 3,234 examiners participated in the coordination and marking exercise.

Areghan said the WASSCE for private candidates, 2020 second series was successfully conducted under strict COVID-19 protocols.

“We are happy to report that throughout the conduct of the examination, there was no reported case of any candidate, invigilator, supervisor, WAEC staff or any examination functionary, for that matter, going down with the dreaded Coronavirus disease,” Areghan said.

“A total of Sixty Six Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy Five (66,375) Candidates (representing a 31.63% decline, when compared with the 2019 entry figure) entered for the examination, while Sixty One Thousand, Five Hundred and Nine (61,509) candidates actually sat the examination at Five Hundred and Forty (540) centres spread across the nooks and crannies of the country. The drop in the entry figure could be attributed to the negative impact of the COVID –19 pandemic.

“A total of One Hundred and One (101) candidates with varying degrees of Special Needs were registered for the examination. Out of this number, Thirty Nine (39) were visually challenged, Fifteen (15) had impaired hearing; Ten (10) were Albinos; One (1) was spastic cum mentally challenged, and Thirty Six (36) were physically challenged. All these candidates with special needs were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination. The results of these candidates have also been processed and released along with those of other candidates.

“Of the total number of Sixty One Thousand, Five Hundred and Nine (61,509) candidates that sat the examination, Thirty Thousand, Five Hundred and Seven (30,507) were males while Thirty One Thousand and Two (31,002) were females, representing 49.60% and 50.40%, respectively.

“Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, Sixty One Thousand, One Hundred and Eleven (61,111) candidates, representing 99.35% have their results fully processed and released while Three Hundred and Ninety Eight (398) candidates, representing 0.65% have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors on the part of the candidates. Efforts are, however, being made to speedily complete the processing to enable all the affected candidates get their results fully processed and released, subsequently.

“The analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates shows that out of the Sixty One Thousand, Five Hundred and Nine (61,509) candidates that sat the examination, Thirty One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty One (31,751) candidates representing 51.62% obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects (with or without English Language and/or Mathematics; out of which Fifteen Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy Six (15,376) were males and Sixteen Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy Five (16,375) were females, representing 48.43 % and 51.57%, respectively; Twenty Four Thousand Four Hundred and Ninety One (24,491) candidates representing 39.82% obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects including English Language and Mathematics.

“Of this number, Twelve Thousand, and Forty (12,040) i. e. 49.16% were male candidates, while Twelve Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty One (12,451) i.e. 50.84% were female candidates. The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2018 and 2019, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, were 35.99% and 35.10% respectively. Thus, there is a marginal increase of 4.72% in performance in this regard.

“The results of Five Thousand, Five Hundred and Forty-Eight (5,548) candidates, representing 9.02% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice. The cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for determination in due course. The Committee’s decisions will be communicated directly to the affected candidates thereafter.

“Candidates who sat the examination are now free to check the details of their performance on the Council’s results website: www.waecdirect.org. The Result Checker PIN and Serial Number needed by candidates to check their results online are contained on the candidate’s Smart Identity Card used during the conduct of the examination.

“Candidates that collection of certificates for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for Private Candidates would be based on requests online, via the Electronic Certificate Management System platform. Details of the simple procedures have been made available to the public in earlier paid adverts.” (The Guardian)

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