The Nation Newspaper

Tag: WAEC

  • WAEC boss elected VP of assessment body

    Head of Nigeria National Office, West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Mr Olu Adenipekun, has emerged the Vice President of the Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA).

    He was elected for a one-year term during the 36th Annual Conference of the AEAA held in Maseru, Lesotho as successor to Dr Litsabako Ntoi of the Examinations Council of Lesotho (ECOL).

    The conference, which had as theme, “Reforming educational assessment: A renewed agenda”, had 325 delegates from 27 countries in attendance.

    Eighty-two papers were presented at the conference opened by the Minister of Education and Training of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Prof Ntoi Rapapa.

    In his keynote address, Rapapa said the theme was a wake-up call for assessment bodies, as the 21st century knowledge, skills and expertise requires them to review their role. He added that the need to integrate technology into assessment combined with the broadening array of candidates the assessment bodies have to cater for, have necessitated the introduction of new dimensions to the mandate of these bodies.

    AEAA is a non-profit making organisation established in 1982 to promote cooperation among examining and assessment bodies in Africa.

    During the closing ceremony, the baton for the hosting of the 37th Annual AEAA Conference was handed to WAEC Nigeria.

    In his acceptance speech, Adenipekun, said the conference, which will have as theme: “Innovations in educational assessment” will be hosted by WAEC Nigeria at the Ladi Kwali  Conference Centre, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja from August 5-9, 2019.

    The WAEC delegation to the 36th Annual AEAA Conference was led by the Registrar to Council, Dr. Iyi Uwadiae.

  • Peace remains most critical need – Ishaku

    Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku on Tuesday reminded Muslims that peace remains the most critical need in Nigeria especially in Taraba State where many residents have died and thousands displaced from their ancestral homes to crisis.

    He spoke in a statement while rejoicing with Muslims on the Eid-el-Kabir. “I wish all Muslims a happy, peaceful and delightful Eid-el-Kabir celebration,” the statement said.

    The governor’s Sallah felicitation message was delivered by his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Publicity, Bala Dan Abu.

    “I rejoice with the Muslim Ummah in Taraba State as they join their counterparts in Nigeria and all over the world to mark this year’s Eid-el-Kabir.

    Read Also: Ortom, Ishaku call for restructuring

    “Peace remains the most critical need of the state and this can only be achieved and sustained if the people remain united against the agents of destabilisation; against those who are bent on causing breakdown of law and order in the land,” the governor said.

    Ishaku prayed for “Allah’s abundant blessings and benevolence upon Nigerians.” He thanked God for the gift of life, and reminded Sallah celebrants of the need for them to continue to work very hard for peace in Taraba and the country.

    The governor re-assured them of government’s commitment to his “rescue agenda” which he noted, has already impacted positively in job creation and skills acquisition and also led to unprecedented improvements in WAEC scores by Taraba students.

    “The provision of water to more than 250 communities, renovation and re-equipment of major hospitals in the state and construction of major roads in the three senatorial zone etc, are only a few of the numerous achievements my administration has put in place.

    “In the years ahead, a lot more will be done in terms of service delivery and in support of the welfare of the people. Let me urge all indigenes and non-indigenes of the state to continue to support this administration.”

  • Niger owes WAEC, NECO N664m

    Niger State government State said on Monday it is owning two major examination bodies in the country – the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) – N664 million.

    The state Commissioner of Education, Hajiya Fatima Magudu, said the debt was inherited by the government from previous administrations in the state.

    The Nation had reported that students in the state public schools have not been able to access their WEAC results due to debts owed to the examination body.

    Students and parents have besieged the WAEC office in Minna, demanding reasons why the results were not accessed and they were directed to the state Ministry of Education for explanations.

    However, the commissioner said N5million had been given to WAEC to offset this year’s bill to enable the students access their results.

     

  • WAEC, NECO urged not to compromise standard

    The Chairman, Board of Governors, JEXTOBAN Secondary School, Lagos, Pastor Emmanuel Ojo, has urged the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) not to compromise standard.

    Ojo, who spoke at the weekend at the 20th valedictory service and graduation ceremony of the school in Ketu, Lagos, with the theme: “Greater Heights”, said the bodies should tackle malpractices.

    He said they should improve the standard they have set.

    “WAEC and NECO should not compromise standard. We at JEXTOBAN have zero tolerance for examination malpractices.

    “We ensure that our pupils prepare very well for examinations. This country will only be great if youths, who are tomorrow’s leaders, are taught to be honest.

    “Parents have a lot to do. They should monitor their children and pay impromptu visits to their schools, to find out whether they are on the right path,” Ojo said.

    According to him, “this year’s event is significant because we are presenting our first set of graduating pupils from JEXTOBAN Secondary School, Ibafo, Ogun State. We are also celebrating the 20th valedictory service and graduation ceremony of JEXTOBAN Secondary School, Ketu, Lagos.”

    The cleric advised the graduating pupils to eschew vices and be of good character.

    He said they should practise the morals they have learnt at the school.

    The Chairman, Editorial Board, ThisDay, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, enjoined the graduating pupils to strive for excellence and be godly.

    He said:” You should behave well and dress properly. Be good ambassadors of JEXTOBAN, a value-driven secondary school. You should be wary of the kind of comments and photos you post on Facebook. Negative pictures and comments on the social media will affect you in future.”

  • Student disagrees with WAEC answer in NNPC quiz

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) was put to test Monday in Ilorin when a participating student at the on-going Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) National Science Quiz Competition for states in the North Central Zone and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja disputed a mathematical answer the examining body proffered for one of the questions.

    Providing an option D answer (5/36) for the Mathematics Round One, Question 7 of the exercise, Ibrahim Wisdom of St. Kizito Seminary, Idah, Kogi State, stood his ground, which made the Quiz Master, Mr. Oyawale Olusegun, to halt the contest and summoned six subject experts among the teachers to intervene.

    As the tense atmosphere at the event slowly ticked away, Mr. Abdulahmeed Baba Ahmed, a Mathematics teacher from Demonstration Secondary School, Akwanga, Nasarawa State, who was among the subject experts that rose to the occasion, provided solution to the logjam.

    To the relief of participants, officials and the audience at the context, WAEC was right, as Ahmed’s solution tallied with the examining body’s option C answer to the question.

    The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, who made this known in a statement yesterday, said the student was commended for being courageous to challenge WAEC.

    “The question”, said Ahmed with an air of authority, “was not direct; it was technical”, stressing however that Wisdom’s courage to challenge WAEC option should be welcome.

    Olusegun, the Quiz Master, who is a subject expert in Physics and is also a Deputy Director, Department of Science and Technology of the Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja, said that rarely, youthful participants had disputed answer options provided by an examining body, adding that the intervention of subject experts who accompanied the students were always sought to resolved matters.

    The disputed question at the contest which held at Queen Elizabeth School in Ilorin was: A box contains 5 white, 4 green and 3 identical balls. If two balls are picked one after the other from the box without replacement, what is the probability that one is white and the other is green. WAEC provided the following answer options for pick: A 5/33; B 5/18, C 10/33 and D 5/36.

    Option C was adjudged the correct answer.

    Thirteen-year-old Wisdom who had earlier queried the WAEC’s answer concurred eventually with the examination body’s option, saying the question was rather technical, which was why he missed it.

    Its now two years running with WAEC as consultant to the contest, with the main responsibility of preparing standardized test items for the nationwide competition.

    At the preliminary stages up to the Zonal level, the NNPC quiz competition tests participants in five subject areas of Mathematics, English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. At the Grand Finale level, test of fundamentals on NNPC and the Oil and Gas Industry, is included.

    Also, on the sidelines of the contest, Favour Moshood Okikiola, who was a Zonal winner of the contest and who made it to the Grand Finale of the competition in Abuja in 2017, revealed his exploits in the just released West African Examinations Council Ordinary Level results.

    Okikiola, who had attended Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Model School in Ilorin, made eight A1s in the examinations with only a B in English Language.

    The calm 16-year old, who also recorded an impressive score of 344 out of 400 questions in the last Joint Admission and Matriculation Board universities admission examinations, has already trained his sights on studying Medicine and Surgery at the premier University of Ibadan.

    “The NNPC National Science Quiz context was a morale booster to me”, Okikiola stated, saying that through the competition he was able to know his weak areas, which in turn enabled him to balance up.

    He admonished the winners and losers at the Ilorin Zonal contest to think positively as they all have a bright future ahead of them.

    Udeogu Chukwuemeka, Okikiola’s teacher, who was also at the North Central Zonal contest, said he made the school proud as he was the first student from their school who made it to NNPC National Science Quiz Competition Grand Finale.

    Chukwuemeka stated that Okikiola’s participation in NNPC quiz competition was a morale booster as he received a hero’s welcome to the school on return from the contest in Abuja last year, stressing that the confidence the quiz contest imbued in him must have partly informed his recent superlative successes in WAEC and JAMB examinations.

    NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, who was represented at the occasion said the quiz competition was a flagship of NNPC Corporate Social Responsibility projects.

    He said he was proud of the successes of the initiative which has turned out scores of individuals that are making meaningful contribution to the society.

    He assured that NNPC would continue to affect the lives of Nigerians in all walks of life positively in line with the corporation’s pay-off line.

    Kwara State Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Halima Garba, who was represented at the event by Alhaji Hammed Yinusa, Director, Information and Communication Technology Department of the Ministry, thanked NNPC for its support for science education across the country, adding that the corporation’s efforts had enabled many Nigerians to actualize their dreams.

    Hajia Garba wished the winners who would represent the North Central in the Grand Finale contest in Abuja success in their endeavours.

    Queen Elizabeth School Principal, Alhaja Ramata Abdulrahman, expressed appreciation to NNPC for the significant impact it was making to support the education of young Nigerians.

    She said she looked forward to seeing other corporate bodies emulate NNPC in the laudable initiative.

    At the end of the one-day competition which commenced as early as 9am, two states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Plateau State, represented by Okeke Favour and Ezemba Confidence respectively, tallied in their scores of 65 marks out of 75 points to emerge First and were trailed by Benue State who was represented by Agada Vincent, who made 3rd position. The three are to represent the Zone in the Grand Finale in Abuja later in the year.

    Kwara and Kogi states, represented by Femi Olufisayo and Ibrahim Wisdom respectively, equally tallied to take 4th position with 50 points each, with Niger and Nasarawa states, represented by Olamilekan Oladapo and Ajogwu Benjamin, making the distant sixth and 7th positions with 35 and 20 points respectively.

    The NNPC Quiz Competition was inaugurated in 2000 and was limited to participants from the Niger Delta but went national in 2001. This year’s event would mark the 16th edition of the competition.

    Designed mainly for students in the nation’s secondary schools, the competition has impacted positively on the intellectual attainment of young Nigerians. It has provided financial succour to successful contestants who have been placed on scholarship throughout their university education. Many of the awardees had moved on to achieve academic laurels in tertiary institutions, locally and internationally.

    Fulfilling aspects of its slant, records show many of the past awardees ended up studying Science and Technology related courses in the universities. In 2010, a past winner of the competition, emerged 2nd in a contest involving others from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Member Countries, and Austria to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of OPEC.

    Several years after its inauguration, the horizon of the competition soars.

    Among the main objectives of the competition are:

    · To implement a core element of NNPC Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) package

    · To promote Science education in the country

    · To encourage students in the study of Science and Technology related subjects

    · To prepare students for promotional and qualifying examinations

    · To build friendship amongst the participating students

    · To develop students’ competitive spirit

    · To break down long-held stereotypes and engendering a better sense of national being in participating students, through the cross-cultural interactions that the contest offers

    · To provide a platform for enlightening the students and the public on the activities of NNPC.

  • 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.

    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.

    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.

     

     

     

  • Osun records 284 per cent students’ performance in WAEC in seven years

    The Osun State Commissioner for Education, Mr. Wasiu Omotunde-Young, yesterday said the state government recorded 284 per cent improvement in the performance of students in the West African Examination Council (WAEC) from 2010 to 2017.

    Addressing reporters at the Exco Chamber of the Governor’s Office in Osogbo, the state capital, Omotunde-Young said the Rauf Aregbesola administration had brought the state’s education from darkness to light in the last seven and a half years.

    According to him, students’ performance in public schools in the state improved from 15.68 per cent in 2010 to 44.59 per cent in 2017, saying this was a significant improvement of 284 per cent.

    The commissioner recalled that in 2010, a total of 43,216 public secondary school students sat for WAEC while only 6,77 passed with Credit in Mathematics and English language, representing 15.68 per cent.

    In 2017, he said 32,488 public secondary school students sat for WAEC, while 14,487 passed with Credit in Mathematics and English language, representing 44.49 per cent.

    The commissioner said the improvement in students’ performance was the result of focused, deliberate and purposeful intervention Aregbesola put into the Education sector.

    He added: “As at November 2010, when Aregbesola retrieved his mandate to govern the state, the situation in the Education sector was marked with poor, dysfunctional, appalling learning and teaching infrastructure across the state. All of these exulted in very poor performance of students in internal and external examinations.”

    According to him, a blueprint developed from education summit organised in 2011 resulted in a radical and comprehensive policies, which he noted transformed the sector.

    The commissioner said the state government’s intervention in infrastructure development, training and capacity development of teachers, supply of science laboratory materials, among others, led to the improvement of the students’ performance.

     

  • WAEC to release 2018 WASSCE results within 45 days—Spokesman

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has reassured that it is committed to  releasing results of its 2018 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination ( WASSCE ) for school candidates  in 45 days.

    The council’s Head of  Public Affairs, Mr Damianus Ojijeogu,  disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.

    The council, he said, was satisfied with the conduct of the  just concluded examination for school candidates nationwide.

    NAN reports that the WASSCE for school candidates commenced on March 27 and was concluded on May 15.

    “We are indeed happy that the examination was conducted in a hitch free manner.

    “Right now, we have commenced coordination, briefing and subsequently, marking.

    “We are looking at releasing the results in 45 days or earlier than that time.

    “It has been the commitment of the council to always give quality service delivery in line with the Head of National Office, Mr Olu Adenipekun’s promise to reduce the waiting days from 90 days to 45 days, ” he said.

    Ojijeogu said that technology had been deployed to some marking venues to  assist in scanning the scripts.

    He said that this would facilitate the marking of the scripts.

    According to him, this will also impact positively in the early release of the results.

    The council had also  said it would  deploy  technology that would help detect malpractice in its objective questions.(NAN)

  • Commissioner urges WAEC to maintain standard

    Enugu State Commissioner for Education Prof. Uche Eze has urged the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to improve its falling standard.

    He spoke in Enugu when he received members of the Coal City Literary Foundation (CCLF) in his office.

    Eze lamented that WAEC, which was highly rated, is losing credibility due to officials, who connive with schools to lower standard.

    He said: “WAEC is losing credibility as its officials can no longer conduct examinations in the sub-region.

    “The council is no longer what it used to be. WAEC’s ranking of schools seems to be political, which encourages abnormalities and destroys quality of education.”

    On reading culture, the commissioner lamented that youths don’t read anymore, as they sort their ways to pass examinations.

    “Headteachers and parents are not helping matters because they encourage examination malpractice,” he said.

    Eze noted that it is worse in private schools, “as you will not find pupils failing examinations because all of them were promoted.”

    He said the government lacked strong legal instruments to tackle the menace, adding that laws guiding private schools are nothing to write home about.

    “Defaulters of government policy on private school ownership pay N200. This is appalling, but efforts are under way to review the laws,” Eze said.

    He said the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi administration had provided an enabling environment to enhance education.

    The commissioner praised the foundation for promoting reading culture and urged it to extend its campaign to rural areas.

    CCLF President Dr. Adaobi Nwoye enjoined the government to increase salary of teachers in rural areas and motivate them to improve quality of education.

    She said the foundation had set up reading clubs in schools and organised essay competitions to improve writing skills.

    Nwoye solicited government’s support to enable the organisation reach out to more schools.

  • WASSCE: WAEC compiles list of erring supervisors for sanctions

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is compiling a list of supervisors who worked against the ongoing May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), for sanctions by relevant authorities.

    The council’s Head of Public Affairs Unit, Mr Damianus Ojijeogum, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

    According to him, investigations revealed that the supervisors’ photo-shopped previous examination papers and forwarded same to operators of rogue websites, who in turn, swindled gullible candidates.

    Ojijeogum said: “Our investigations also revealed that some school heads, invigilators, supervisors and candidates who succeeded in smuggling mobile phones and other electronic devices into examination halls, snapped the questions after the examination had commenced, and forwarded same to their collaborators for solutions.

    “We have been compiling a list of all supervisors found wanting; at the end of the entire exercise, we shall forward their names to the All Nigerian Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPPS) and the ministry of education for proper disciplinary measures. Such persons are not staff of WAEC; we shall blacklist them for good.”

    He said that “this cheating by any means” could be described as examination leakage as being reported by some mass media.

    “Question papers for the ongoing WASSCE did not leak as has been erroneously portrayed by a section of the media.

    “Leakage can be said to have occurred when questions get into the hands of some individuals who are not supposed to have them before the scheduled time. No such case has been established since the commencement of this examination. Rather than term it as leakage, it is correct to describe it as malpractice which we are committed to tackling.

    “We want to assure the general public that the integrity of our examination is a top priority to the council, and we remain committed in ensuring that it remains so,” he said.

    Ojijeogu told NAN that WAEC was deploying resources to introduce new techniques to protect its examinations.

    “We are all aware that one of the greatest challenges facing the education sector is examination malpractice. On our part, we shall continue to do all we can to ensure that this ugly trend is checked. We want to commend security agencies, especially the police, for partnering with us in an effort to expose and check the cankerworm,” he said.