The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Tuesday announced the release of its January/February series of the 2018 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Mr Olu Adenipekun, the council’s Head of National Office (HNO), who announced the release in Lagos, said results of 1,021 candidates were, however, withheld.
The approval to introduce and conduct the additional diet in the country and other national offices of the five-member countries was given at the council’s 65th annual general meeting in March 2017.
The introduction of the series for Private candidates, brings to the three, the number of examinations conducted by the council each year.
According to Adenipekun, the results were withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice by the affected candidates.
He said the cases were being investigated and that reports of the investigations would be presented to the appropriate committee of the council in due course, for consideration.
“The committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates,’’ Adenipekun said.
According to him, 11,721 candidates registered for the examination, while 11,307 actually sat for the test.
Giving a breakdown of statistics of candidates’ performance at the examination, the HNO said that 8,113 candidates obtained credits and above in two subjects.
He noted that 6,375 others obtained credits and above in three subjects, while 4,762 candidates obtained credits and above in four subjects.
Adenipekun also said that 3,263 candidates obtained credits and above in five subjects, while 2,010 others obtained credits and above in six subjects.
“A total 1,937 candidates, representing 17.13 per cent, obtained the minimum of credits in five subjects and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
“The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE in 2017 was 26.01 per cent.
“From the statistics of performance, it is safe to say that candidates performance is not satisfactory, compared to what obtained in the same diet for private candidates in 2016 and 2017.
“We, therefore, wish to plead with candidates to take this examination seriously,’’ he said.
The HNO, however, expressed satisfaction at the response of Nigerians to the newly-introduced diet.
He added that it was encouraging and would propel the council to expand to more cities and towns.
Adenipekun said the introduction of the diet would also stem the tendency by some candidates to get involved in examination malpractice.
He explained that the additional diet for private candidates was part of council’s contributions to the efforts of governments at all levels to expand the educational opportunities in the West African sub-region.
Adenipekun urged candidates who sat for the examination to check the details of their performance on the council’s results website. (NAN)
