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Tag: Demianus Ojijeogu

  • WAEC to candidates: Beware of fraudsters

     The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has cautioned candidates in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) against fraudsters, who are bent on jeopardizing the performance of the examination.

    Mr Demianus Ojijeogu, Head of Public Affairs, WAEC, gave the warning in a statement in Abuja.

    He said the attention of the council had been drawn to the recent activities of these fraudsters.

    Ojijeogu said the past questions were being posted through some social media platforms by the fraudsters claiming that “they are the papers to be written by candidates.”

    Read Also: WAEC boss elected VP of assessment body

    The attention of WAEC has been drawn to the activities of fraudsters that are capable of jeopardizing the performance of gullible candidates in the ongoing WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2018-Second Series in Nigeria.

    “The council has observed with dismay that past questions are being posted via WhatsApp and criminal websites by fraudulent individuals, which they claim are that of yet to be written papers.

    “For instance, the question paper for Principles of Cost Accounting that was written in Sierra Leone and Gambia on Thursday (today) are being circulated by these criminally-minded elements.

    “ The paper is circulated for candidates in Nigeria as Financial Accounting, slated for tomorrow (Friday).

    “The success of our candidates is our major concern and the council wishes to advise all candidates not to fall prey to these fraudsters but rather concentrate on their studies.’

  • WAEC extends registration deadline for private candidates’ exam

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), has extended normal registration period for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for Private Candidates Second Series) to July 27, 2018.

    The examination, more popularly known as November/December WASSCE or wrongly called ‘GCE’ will hold between August and October.

    A statement by the Council’s Head of Public Affairs, Mr Demianus Ojijeogu, listed 17 banks where candidates could register within the time frame.

    Read Also: WAEC results ready in 45 days — Spokesman

    They are: First Bank, Eco Bank, Diamond Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, FCMB, Access Bank, Sterling Bank and Union Bank.

    Others are: UBA, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Fidelity Bank, Skye Bank, Wema Bank, Unity Bank and Heritage Bank.

    The statement noted that candidates could also obtain registration PIN from WAEC branch and zonal offices nationwide.

    It will cost candidates N13,950 to register for the examination.

  • WAEC denies fake online recruitment drive

    The West African Examinations Council ( WAEC ) has distanced itself from an advertisement being shared on the social media about its 2018/2019 recruitment exercise.

    A statement from the examining body’s Director of Public Affairs, Demianus Ojijeogu, noted that the exercise was fraudulent and warned members of the public to avoid being duped.

    The statement reads in part: “The attention of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria has been drawn to an ‘advertisement’ trending on Facebook and other social media, titled ‘WAEC Recruitment 2018/2019 Exercise and How to Apply Online via waeconline.org.ng’, by topgist.com.ng.

    Read Also: WASSCE papers didn’t leak, says WAEC

    “We hereby categorically state that there is no recruitment exercise currently going on or being carried out by WAEC Nigeria. The advertisement did not emanate from us neither did we authorize any agent to do so on our behalf.

    “The advertisement on the so-called recruitment exercise is simply the handi-work of fraudsters who are out to dupe gullible and unsuspecting job seekers and members of the general public.”

    The statement further added that genuine information about recruitment from WAEC would be passed through “reputable media channels.”

    “Applicants and the general public are hereby advised to disregard the purported advertisement and avoid falling into the hands of scammers who are out to make money from gullible and undiscerning individuals,” the statement warned.

  • WAEC attributes improvement in students’ performance to teacher training

    WAEC attributes improvement in students’ performance to teacher training

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has said its assessment standard coupled with teachers’ exposure to refresher courses enabled many candidates of  the 2017 May/June examination to make good grades.

    Mr Demianus Ojijeogu, the Head of Public Affairs Department, WAEC, Nigeria, made the explanation in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.

    Ojijeogu explained that the council had been training its examination coordinators and assessors on the marking scheme prior to the examinations.

    According to him, the quality of teachers preparing the candidates and the examiners has also improved, especially those involved in coordinating and marking candidates’ scripts.

    He said that the teachers as well as the examiners were exposed to the exact things and standard expected of the students in examinations and thereafter pass same to the students.

    He further said that if the students were exposed to the right things to watch out for in the examinations and the standard demanded of them the final output would be optimal.

    Ojijeogu noted that the May/June 2017 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results and  students’ performance improved by seven per cent compared to the previous year’s results.

    He noted that 59.22 per cent of the candidates who wrote the 2017 examination had credit pass in five subjects,  including English Language and mathematics.

    He said the poor performances in previous years was due to the lack of necessary facilities and skilled teachers in the core subjects.

    He said in 2014 those who obtained five credits and above, including English Language and mathematics, was 31.28 per cent.

    ‘’In 2015 we had 38.68 per cent and then in 2016 it was 52.97 while in 2017 it is 59.22 per cent,’’ Ojijeogu said.

    Also, Mr Olatunji Jekayinfa, Sustainable Development Goals Desk Officer, National Mathematical Centre, said improvement in students’ performances was due to the on-going training of teachers.

    “Luckily we have a slight change in performance of the result this year. Last year we had about 52.11 per cent of students that had six credits, including mathematics and English.

    “But this year we have up to 59.22 per cent that had six credits, including mathematics and English.

    “So, we have like seven per cent increase in the students’ performance this year, I think that is the response to the little trainings that are on-going,’’ Jekayinfa said.

    According to him, teachers are being exposed to training and retraining and the country is reaping better results from students.

    He emphasised the importance of training for  teachers preparing candidates for examinations.

    “Training is the key and we have shortage of teachers, especially in the area of mathematics; qualified teachers are not available in the teaching of mathematics.

    “ But if these few ones are given the right training and resources to work, we can see more improvement,’’ he said.

    A teacher, Mr Sanni Bala, said good reading habits would go a long way in improving students’ performance and should be encouraged among the students.

    Bala said majority of students preferred watching films and engaging in online chatting instead of studying.

    He attributed poor performance by some students to inadequate preparation and urged parents and teachers to inculcate the reading habit in their wards.

    He also advised that students, who did not make good grades at the first attempt, not to be discouraged as there was always a second chance for hardworking candidates.

  • Edo polls: WAEC relocates candidates to Delta, Ondo

    Edo polls: WAEC relocates candidates to Delta, Ondo

    The West African Examination Council (WAEC) on Tuesday said it has secured examination centres in Agbor, Delta state and Ore in Ondo state for candidates writing the General Certificate Examination (GCE) on Saturday,  September 10 in Edo state.

    It will be recalled that Edo state governorship election is expected to hold on the same day secondary schools students in the state are expected to sit for their mathematics paper.

    This is just as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed on Tuesday that it would go ahead with the poll as planned despite protest from secondary school students who called for a shift in the date of the election to allow them write their papers.

    INEC through the Chief Press Secretary to the chairman of the commission, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, also said it would not be involved in the relocation of the candidates.

    It added that the idea to relocate candidates to other states for examination is purely the responsibility of the state government, adding that INEC would not compensate any candidate.

    The Head, Public Affairs for WAEC Nigeria, Demianus Ojijeogu, who spoke with our reporter in Abuja yesterday, said the council would go ahead with the examination on that day.

    Ojijeogu also stated that WAEC would not be responsible for the relocation of the candidates to the two states, adding that the council is hoping the state government would assist with the relocation of the candidates.

    He added that WAEC officials would be on ground to conduct the examination for candidates who would be at the venue of the examination.

    “We went to Agbor, we have already secured venue. We went to Ore in Ondo state to secure exam centres for them. So that is where we are. Yes we have. Agbor in Delta state and Ore in Ondo state. We have secured centres already.

    “No. It’s our belief that the Edo State Government being the guardian of the candidates can make such an arrangement & also provide security for them.

    “If push comes to show, we will go and wait for them. Our exam officials will be in Ore in Ondo and Agbor in Delta state in the centres designated for that exams on that day. Those that come we will conduct exams for them but we still believe that something is going to happen between now and tomorrow,” he said in a text message sent to our reporter.

    He explained that WAEC wrote a letter to INEC to allow the candidates and WAEC officials free movement on the day of the examination after proper accreditation.

    According to him, the request was turned down for security reasons, adding that the police insisted on restriction of movement on that day.

    He said: “We wrote to INEC headquarters in Abuja and copied the state INEC in Edo state, copied the commissioner of police alerting them that our mathematics paper is clashing with the election.

    “Our view was that they should exempt our examination officials who will be properly accredited and candidates who will also be identified, they should grant them exemption from the restriction of government on that day so that they can write the paper because the subject is a core subject. It is mathematics.

    “The next thing we got a reply from INEC and even the commissioner of police inviting us for a meeting in Benin City. That was on august 25th. I was at the meeting and then when we got to the meeting we discovered that they had already met on the level of inter-agency consultative committee on election in edo state and trashed our issue that WAEC should relocate the candidates to states that is closer to Edo state.

    “We told them that this thing is not workable. Because one, research has shown that when you move candidates from where they have prepared for exams to another state or where they have been writing exams to another location if affects them psychologically.

    “On Wednesday, on the 29th of august we got a letter INEC sent to us saying that the commission in liaison with the security operating in Edo state after our joint meeting with officials of the organization advised WAEC to relocate the candidates to any state that are… to Edo state. This position is borne out of the fact that movement of every Nigerian living in edo state will be restricted on the election Day and such security arrangement cannot be compromised.

    They said that they cannot grant our request for the exemption of examination functionaries and candidates from any movement on the day of the election so we were left with nothing. There is nothing else to do. The exam must be conducted. It is an international exam in the sense that the paper will be written in the Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, as well as in Nigeria at the same time.

    “We have one other thing to do since they don’t want a gathering on the election day because they said it will compromise election security for the sake of these children let us move these centres to neighbouring states- delta, and Ondo.

    “We are also pleading with the government. We are expecting that the government can shift ground and say okay, since there will be free movement on that day for eligible voters that the candidates can also be allowed to go and write the exam as long as they are properly identified. We are still expecting that to happen.”