The analysis of candidates’ performance showed that out of the 8,139 candidates that sat the examination, 3,424 candidates representing 42.07 per cent obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects (with or without English Language and/or Mathematics).
Education
2023 WASSCE begins Monday, WAEC assures candidates’ safety
2023 WASSCE begins Monday, WAEC assures candidates’ safety
The West African Examinations Council says adequate measures are in place for the safety of all candidates that registered for its 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.
The council’s Head. National Office (HBO) Patrick Areghan gave the assurance during an interactive session with newsmen on the level of preparations ahead the examination nationwide, on Thursday in Lagos.
Areghan stated that the examination had been scheduled for Monday May 8 to Friday, June 23, spanning a period of seven weeks.
The WAEC boss said that the council could not feign ignorance of the level of insecurity in the country, hence conducting examinations under such situation had been a daunting task.
According to him, there are many flashpoints all over the country, and conducting examinations in such areas, requires extra security arrangement.
“Consequently, we are liaising with the Inspector General of Police, Brigade Commanders, other security agencies and the various state governments to provide security.
“This is in order to ensure that the examination is conducted under a secure and safe environment. We have also sought the intervention of the Minister of Education in this respect.
READ ALSO:
- Tinubu and the meaning of insanity
- Police release suspended Adamawa REC on bail
- Organ harvesting: Ekweremadus know fate today
“Similarly, our zonal and branch offices have reached out to various security outfits in their respective locations for assistance. Courtesy visits and other forms of appeals have been made and we have been assured of full cooperation of the security agencies to this effect.
“If and when the need arises, schools in insecurity-prone areas would be relocated to safe havens, with the full approval, cooperation and participation of the Federal or State Government concerned,” he said.
Speaking further, Areghan noted that a total of 1,621,853 candidates from 20,851 secondary schools across the country had registered for the examination.
He noted that of this number, 798,810 are male, representing 49.25 per cent, while 823,043 are female, representing 50.75 per cent.
The HNO noted that on the whole, the candidature for the 2023 WASSCE (School Candidate) increased by 13, 868 over the figure of 2022, which was 1,607,985, for the same diet.
He said that for the second time in succession, the council had successfully reverted to the May/June period for the conduct of the examination, describing it as remarkable.
According to him, the significance of this landmark is that WAEC and the various member states, with the exception of Ghana, have again found a common ground in respect of their academic calendars.
“This shows a massive recovery from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our sincere gratitude goes to the minister of Education and his ministry for this memorable achievement and to the registrar to council, for his untiring efforts,” he said.
He noted that the council had established a “Self-Service” system for candidates, through the CHATBOT Platform.
Areghan stated that this was to enable them to access their entries, which in most cases the schools do not allow them to see, contrary to instructions.
According to him, the candidate Self-Service is a service on the Request Management System/Chatbot (https://request.waec.ng) that allows students to confirm data uploaded for them by schools in order to make necessary corrections (if any)on such.
He said that it provided two key services on the Request Management System — Confirmation of Entry/Registration and Confirmation of Continuous Assessment Score (CASS), among others.
READ ALSO:
- How Buhari policies, progs have met many at their point of need, by Femi Adesina
- Osimhen shines as Napoli clinch first Serie A title in 33 years
- LP suspends Kenneth Okonkwo, 11 others for anti-party activities
On the issue of the use of National Identification Number (NIN) as requisite for registration for the examination, the WAEC boss noted that though not compulsory, the NIN was made a component of the registration requirements.
“The policy came into being in line with the directive of the Federal Government. Candidates were expected to supply their NIN at the registration stage, but it was not a compulsory requirement.
“This is in order to avoid denying many eligible candidates access to the portal/examination. Even after the registration exercise, candidates were still allowed to submit their NIN for upload.
” Therefore, no candidate was disqualified from registration as a result of non-submission of NIN at the beginning of the exercise, or even later,” he explained.
Areghan, however, frowned at deliberate efforts by some private school owners not to adhere to registration deadline.
According to him, the ugly development has been a huge challenge to the entire examination procedure.
“There was a very serious challenge of non-adherence to the registration deadline, to the extent that what we started on Oct. 10, 2022, with a set deadline of January 27 and eventually extended to March 31.
“It could not even end due to the shenanigans of some private schools who were in the habit of shopping for external candidates to make up numbers, contrary to the policy which does not allow the enrolment of private candidates for School Candidates examination.
“Entries eventually closed on April 15. The examination starts on Monday, May 8.
“But it will surprise you to know that some schools are still bombarding us with requests for entries, even after the pre-examination, examination and post examination materials have been produced and are being distributed to the various states of the federation,” he said.
On the issue of examination malpractice, he warned that the council would deal decisively with any kind, irrespective of who was involved.
According to him, penalties for involvement in examination malpractice will always, without compromise, be meted out to those found involved.
READ ALSO:
- Army rescues two more Chibok schoolgirls with kids
- Passengers stranded at Owerri airport as NLC enforces no-flight order
- Troops rescue two abducted aid workers in Borno
He said that such candidates, invigilators, supervisors, schools, and WAEC officials, among others, as would be penalised as approved by the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC).
Areghan said that the NEC was the highest decision-making organ of the council that deliberated on examination matters in Nigeria.
He said that council, on its part, had rolled out several awareness campaigns and organised seminars for school proprietors.
Areghan noted that principals, students, teachers and other key stakeholders in branch and zonal offices nationwide had also been exposed to such awareness campaigs, in order to sensitse them of the ills of the ugly trend.
“Similarly, we have made flyers, banners, posters and other forms of reminders to further keep the message afresh on the minds of all stakeholders.
“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 media must play its watch-dog role too. The various ministries of education should call their principals, teachers and other officials serving as inspectors and/or supervisors, to order.
“Supervisors should desist from allowing candidates to make use of their cell phones, or availing the candidates of their own (supervisors’) cell phones
“Any form of aiding and abetting or collusion, should be avoided. Every candidate and examination functionary must play by the rules, which are well stipulated in the WAEC Syllabus and Guidelines for the conduct of examinations, issued to schools.
“Erring schools will be derecognised, erring officials adequately punished, while erring candidates would lose their results,” he warned.
He stated that in line with council’s usual practice, the results of candidates sitting the examination would be released 45 days after the conduct of the last paper.
According to him, the certificates will be printed and issued to schools in less than 90 days after the release of results.
He added that WAEC in Nigeria, in its bid to serve the Nigerian child better, had acquired a state-of-the-art digital certificate printer, that enabled it to print and issue certificates to candidates in record time.
2023 WASSCE begins Monday, WAEC assures candidates’ safety
Education
WASSCE: Lagos govt to pay N1.5bn for 58,000 students
WASSCE: Lagos govt to pay N1.5bn for 58,000 students
The Commissioner for the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Tolani Alli-Balogun, has said the state government will be paying N1.5bn to register 58,000 students for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination for this year.
The commissioner said this on Thursday while reporting the activities of the ministry in commemoration of the first year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in office for the second term of his administration.
Sanwo-Olu took the oath of office for his second term as governor on May 29, 2023, promising in his inaugural speech not to let down Lagosians.
The commissioner, who spoke at the state secretariat, said, “The administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu has never defaulted on the payment of WASCCE fees of all public school SS3 students in the four years of Governor Sanwo-Olus’s first term in office. The state government paid over N4.2bn between 2020 and 2023 to keep our promise of full payment of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination fees.
READ ALSO:
- BREAKING: Agboola wins Ondo PDP primary
- Anambra vigilantes torture man to death over water tank theft
- Niger: Residents flee community as troops withdraw after deadly ambush
“In the current school year (2024), the governor has approved the sum of N1,571,076,000 as registration fees and other cost for 58,188 SS3 students writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.”
Last year, the West African Examination Council, which conducts WASSCE, noted that it had concluded plans to begin computer-based examinations in 2024.
It released the results of the first-ever CBT exam, 2024–First Series, in March this year.
Education
Father arrested for helping son to sit UTME
Father arrested for helping son to sit UTME
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the arrest of a man and his son in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME).
The man was accused of impersonating the son and helping him to sit the UTME.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this while on inspection tour of the UTME centres in Kaduna on Wednesday.
He said the 2024 examinations were largely well conducted, except for few cases of impersonation, which became possible because some persons had multiple National Identity Numbers (NINs).
Oloyede warned against cheating in the exams, stressing that JAMB had improved its technology check on those engaging in all forms of examination malpractices.
The JAMB Registrar said, “For those who engage in cheating, they should know that it does not pay. The technology is helping us to check that.
“Across the country, most of the problem we have is impersonation. For instance now, we say we have NIN, we now have cases of people with two NINs.
Therefore, that has defeated the purpose of identity verification. We are going to take that up with NIMC, that there are people who have two NINs.
“We have a case of a father impersonating his son, sitting the examination for the son and I wonder. Are you not destroying your son’s future?
“Of course, two of them are now in custody. I can’t understand what the father will now tell his son when they are both locked up in the same cell. This happened definitely not in Kaduna, but I don’t want to disclose the state.”
Education
Senate backs education minister on 18-year entry age into varsities
Senate backs education minister on 18-year entry age into varsities
Members of Nigeria’s Senate endorsed the federal government’s decision to raise the minimum admission age to 18 years old.
Recall that the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, said on Monday that the entry age for higher institutions was 18 years old and cautioned parents not to force their children who are not yet of age to enroll.
The support was made public on Tuesday in Abuja when the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Sen Muntari Dandutse, led other members of the committee as well as his House of Representatives counterpart to witness the ongoing UTME.
READ ALSO:
- Nollywood actor Zulu Adigwe is dead
- Produce copy of invitation to me, Bello challenges EFCC
- Ronaldo playing in Saudi league for money like me – Ighalo
Speaking with journalists after the exercise , the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District and member of committee, Sen Sunday Karimi, said the Senate has nothing against the proposal by the Minister of Education.
He noted that by restricting admission to students at least 12 years old before secondary school, the government aims to ensure that students possess the cognitive and emotional readiness necessary to navigate the challenges of secondary education effectively.
“By the time a student who entered into secondary school at the age of 12 years completes his secondary school programme, he is already at the age of 18 as stipulated,” he added.
Karimi also stated the law was already on the ground, adding that if that was needed for any amendment to make it stronger, the Senate will be ready to do that.
He commended JAMB for providing an enabling atmosphere for candidates to have a seamless exercise.
Senate backs education minister on 18-year entry age into varsities
-
Education6 days ago
Why we charge N42m fees for primary school pupils — Charterhouse Lagos
-
Auto6 days ago
We expect massive roll-outs of Nigeria-made cars by December 2024 – Minister
-
metro6 days ago
JUST IN : Borrow pit collapses, kills seven Qur’anic school pupils
-
News6 days ago
We’re not part of Yoruba Nation agitation, says MKO Abiola family
-
metro4 days ago
How gunmen killed Babcock university lecturer, abducted two – Police
-
Politics6 days ago
Ondo APC primary: Ododo, gov aspirant in open confrontation
-
Business7 days ago
N50,000 presidential grant: 100,000 small businesses benefit in first phase
-
Sports6 days ago
Arsenal beat Wolves to return to top spot