The Nation Newspaper

Tag: WAEC

  • WASSCE papers didn’t leak, says WAEC

    THE West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has said none of its papers in the ongoing May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) leaked before schedule.

    Rather, the council explained that fraudulent supervisors, invigilators and candidates likely sent pictures of questions during live exams to rogue website to treat and send answers to their subscribers.

    The claim was in reaction to a recent media report on examination malpractice syndicates, which claimed to provide leaked question papers and answers for candidates writing the current examination.

    In a statement made available by the WAEC Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu, the council said: “The council would like to emphasise that the question papers for the ongoing WASSCE for school candidates, 2018 did not leak as has been erroneously portrayed in the media.

    “Leakage can be said to have occurred when the question papers gets into hands of individuals who are not supposed to have them before the time scheduled on the timetable. Without any iota of doubt, the council wishes to state that no case of leakage has been established since the beginning of  the examination.

    “Our monitoring and investigations of the ongoing examination have established the fact that certain school principals, invigilators, supervisors and candidates, who had succeeded in smuggling mobile phones and other  electronic devices into the examination hall, snap the question papers after the examination must have commenced and forward to their criminal  collaborators, who in turn provide solutions to the questions and send to their subscribers via rogue websites, sms, WhatsApp and other social media.”

    The council also praised the police for arresting some exam malpractice fraudsters and called for further partnership with telecoms operators and others to catch malpractice syndicates.

     

     

  • WASSCE papers did not leak, says WAEC

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has said none of its papers in the ongoing May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) leaked before schedule.
    Rather, the  Council explained that fraudulent supervisors, invigilators and candidates likely sent pictures of questions during live exams to rogue website to treat and send answers to their subscribers.
    The clarification was in reaction to a recent media report on examination malpractice syndicates which claimed to provide leaked question papers and answers for candidates writing the current examination.
    In a statement made available by the WAEC Director of Public Affairs, Mr Demianus Ojijeogu, the Council said:
    “The Council would like to emphasize that the question papers for  the ongoing WASSCE for School Candidates , 2018 did not leak as has been erroneously portrayed in the media.
    “Leakage can be said to have occurred when the question papers gets into  hands of individuals who are not supposed to have them before the time  scheduled on the timetable. Without any iota of doubt the Council wishes to  state that no case of leakage has been established since the beginning of  the examination.
    “Our monitoring and investigations of the ongoing examination have  established the fact that certain School Principals, Invigilators, Supervisors
    and Candidates who had succeeded in smuggling mobile phones and other  electronic devices into the examination hall, snap the question papers after the examination must have commenced and forward to their criminal  collaborators who in turn provide solutions to the questions and send to
    their subscribers via rogue websites, sms, WhatsApp and other social  media.”
    The Council also praised the police for arresting some exam malpractice fraudsters and called for further partnership with telecoms operators and others to catch malpractice syndicates.
    “The Council is willing to collaborate with well meaning Nigerians, Civil Society Groups, Corporate Organisations that are ICT Inclined, Telecom Companies, States Ministries of Education, Deposit Money  Banks, relevant Security Agencies, the Media and other stakeholders to neutralize the threat being posed by examination malpractice to education  in Nigeria,” the statement said.

  • LG pays WAEC fees for 200 indigent students in Enugu

    The Igbo Etiti Local Government Council in Enugu State has paid the West African Examination Council (WAEC) fees for 200 indigenous students in the area this year.

    The council Chairman, Mr Malachy Agbo, disclosed this in an interview with our reporter on Thursday in Enugu.

    Agbo said the council did not discriminate along political party lines in the payment.

    He said that all students, irrespective of their background, would benefit from the educational provision as a means of making them feel the benevolence of government.

    According to him, the gesture was aimed at carrying everybody along and to make them feel part of the day to day governance of the local government.

    He explained that the council took the roll-calls of all the students in senior secondary three (SS3) classes, who are indigenes of Igbo Etiti.

    “We register them free of charge for the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

    “We did not consider whether you are from the less-privileged or not,’’ Agbo said.

    He also promised that the council would provide desks in all the primary schools in the area to encourage reading and learning among pupils.

    Agbo explained that the council was running an inclusive government.

    “The old, the new and the adult have a say in what is happening in the council area.’’

    The chairman said all stakeholders and traditional rulers were also being involved to contribute their quota in projects implementation.

    According to him, this has promoted good governance in all ramifications in the council.

    NAN

  • 42 candidates to miss SSCE over stolen school fees

    I was robbed, says principal 

    The fate of 42 candidates of the forthcoming 2018 May/June Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) are hanging in the balance in Bayelsa State following the disappearance of their registration fees.

    One of the parents of the affected students lamented that the Principal of the Community Secondary School Akenfa in Yenagoa failed to remit the registration fees of the candidates.

    It was gathered that some of the parents got to know when they visited the state Ministry of Education to get an update of the examination.

    A parent, Mr. James Ebiowei, said one of them discovered that something was fishy with the registration of the students.

    He accused the principal of the school of collecting the fees but failing to remit them to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

    He claimed that the principal bolted with the money of the students, who had been preparing for their examination.

    He said: ”It was one of the parents who saw the school’s WAEC candidates list and noticed that the name of his child and 41 others were missing and raised the alarm and when we got to the school we were told that the Principal behind this had just retired.

    “This is cruel as the implication is that these innocent children do not know what is happening to them, they will most likely lose a hole academic year due to this unfortunate incident

    “My son for instance sat for the last JAMB and got very high scores with bright chances of getting admission offer on merit only to discover that his registration fee was not paid by the School Principal, it is unfortunate.

    “The saving grace for me is that the alternative examinations, conducted by National Examinations Council (NECO) is still open, so I will ensure I register him for NECO”.

    The immediate past principal of the school, Mr. Francis Micah, who was in charge of the registration before his retirement confirmed that some 42 students who paid their WAEC examination fees were not registered.

    Describing the development as regrettable, Micah said armed robbers, who boarded the same taxi with him, forcefully took the money total king about N800,000 from him

    He said: “The incident is unfortunate and regrettable, it is a big misfortune. I fell into the hands of some cultists and armed boys who collected the examination fees in a taxi I struggled to pay back but it was not possible and the registration deadline passed.

    “I have managed to pay back to some of the affected parents so that they can register for NECO, but a lot are still pending and I have been begging them to understand and be patient with me”.

     

  • WAEC releases Nov/Dec WASSCE results

    WAEC releases Nov/Dec WASSCE results

    THE West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) yesterday released the results of the 2017 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates.

    The council’s Head of National Office (HNO), Mr. Olu Adenipekun, announced the release of the results of the November/December diet of the examination at a news conference in Katsina.

    Giving a breakdown of the results, Adenipekun said 65,483 other candidates obtained credits and above in five subjects and 46,824 obtained credits and above in six subjects.

    The HNO said 135,945 candidates registered for the examination, but 133,223 wrote the test.

    Adenipekun said 131,485 candidates that sat for the examination had their results fully processed and released.

    He said 1,738 candidates had yet to have their full results released because they had a few of their subjects still being processed due to errors traceable to them in the course of registration or writing the examination.

    “Such errors are being corrected by the council to enable the affected candidates get their results fully processed and released subsequently,’’ he said.

    Out of all candidates that wrote the examination, 34,664 obtained a minimum of credits in five subjects and above, including English Language and General Mathematics, representing 26.01 per cent.

    He said the percentage of candidates in this category in 2015 and 2016 were 28.59 per cent and 38.50 per cent.

    “One will discover that the results for 2015 and 2017 are comparatively the same,” he said.

     

     

  • NNPC partners WAEC, others over science development

    NNPC partners WAEC, others over science development

    In its bid to grow the country’s educational sector, especial in terms of science and technology, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Tuesday, said it has entered a partnership with the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the Junior Engineering Technical Society, (JETS), and the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN).

    The corporation’s Group Managing Director (GMD), Maikanti Baru disclosed this at the grand finale of the 2017 National Quiz Competition.

    According to him, the NNPC prizes education dearly and was working with its partners to ensure that the best standard of its competition is maintained.

    He stated that it was in realisation of the importance of science and technology that the NNPC decided to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM, education as a key element of its Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, strategy, adding that there was the driving force behind its establishment of the quiz competition.

    He said: “In this respect, our arc tilts towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM, branches of knowledge, given the great roles they play in nation-building.

    “For a reason, STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy, and enables the next generation of innovators. Innovation is the pillars of any progressive economy.”

    Baru said the 2017 edition is the 16th in the competition’s history, stating that this edition had been expanded from the previous editions, while the prizes has been improved upon also.

    He noted that the 2017 edition took place in all the 774 local government areas of the country and also featured in states in the North-East, that were affected by insurgency.

    His words: “Beginning from this year, the corporation will be providing a one-off educational grant of N100,000 each for all state winners of the competition. This means that everybody on this podium today, regardless of his or her final position is assured of N100,000 from the NNPC to help defray the costs of their tertiary education.

    “For the overall winner of the competition, a scholarship award of N300,000 will be granted per session, while the second and third place winners will receive a scholarship award of N250,000 and N200,000 respectively per session for the duration of their tertiary education.”

    Baru added that the prizes are redeemable by the winners upon presentation of evidence of their admission into tertiary institutions whenever it may be.

    Also speaking, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, commended the NNPC for its contributions to the growth of the Nigerian educational sector, stating also that the competition is unifying and bonding, in the fact that it was conducted across all the states and local governments in the country.

    Kachikwu assured the finalists that the competition present a veritable opportunity for them to further brighten their future.

    He called on the governors of the various finalists to make contact and mentor them as this would help them in their future endeavours.

    Speaking in the same vein, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, also commended the NNPC for taking educational development as a crucial part of its CSR programme and also for its sustenance of the programme for 17 years.

    He stated that the NNPC’s contribution to education, especially for STEM becomes critical going by the fact that the country still has a lot to do in deepening science and technology.

    He expressed the support of the National Assembly in the progress of the contestants and students in general.

  • Why we established more varsities in Gombe – Gov Damkwambo

    Why we established more varsities in Gombe – Gov Damkwambo

    Gov. Ibrahim Damkwambo of Gombe State on Friday said the establishment of additional tertiary institutions in the state was aimed at addressing education imbalance between Gombe and other states in the country.

    Dankwambo, who disclosed this during interactive session with newsmen in Gombe, said the state government had secured licence to establish University of Science and Technology to take care of the increasing number of candidates seeking for university admission.

    He said this was in addition to the College of Education established in Billiri and State University already established by the previous administration in the state.

    He said the institutions were established in line with an agenda produced by experts and professionals at the beginning of his administration.

    “ What you saw today was executed inline with the agenda produced right from the beginning of this administration. The agenda is non political and non religious. It is produced to develop the state.“

    Dankwambo said the state government had invested heavily on primary and secondary education to uplift its standard.

    He said pupils were sitting on bare floor when he assumed office in 2011, adding that the situation had now changed.

    He also said that only one per cent of the students that wrote the West African Examination (WAEC) and JAMB qualified for university admission, stressing that the percentage was very encouraging.

    “About 27,000 students are now looking for admission in tertiary institutions to further their education. This is one of the reasons we decided to established addition institutions.“

  • JAMB plans deployment of malpractice device for future examination

    JAMB plans deployment of malpractice device for future examination

    The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says the deployment of the CCTV device during the annual examinations had come to stay to tackle examination malpractice.

    Prof. Is’haq Oloyede, the board’s Registrar, made this known on the side-line of a two-day International Summit on Examination Malpractice which ended on Friday in Lagos.

    The summit, organised by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), has the theme: “Examination Malpractice; the Contemporary Realities and Antidotes.”

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also quotes the registrar as disclosing that the deployment of the CCTV device during JAMB examinations had come to stay.

    “It is in line with this kind of development that the board has concluded arrangements to create centres for examination malpractice devices for future examinations,’’ he said.

    According to Oloyede, the use of the CCTV for the first time during the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), further consolidated its quest to ensure quality, equity and integrity.

    “There will be no compromise whatsoever.

    “Without the deployment of the CCTV, one will just be making a mockery of the computer-based test (CBT).

    “This device has ensured that even if a cheating candidate was not caught during the examination, such candidate will be caught after the examination.

    “We will continue to ensure that with education, one can achieve everything and without it, one can achieve nothing.

    “It, therefore, goes to tell that each one of us must strive to achieve what is good, giving the significance of life and living,’’ NAN quotes Oloyede as saying.

    He added that examination malpractice was a general malaise, the world over.

    The registrar noted that it was a global phenomenon that must be tackled urgently.

    “I have statistics, which shows that what we have in Nigeria on examination malpractice is concerned, is a child’s play when compared to what is happening in other climes.

    “Today with the aid of technological devices for cheating such as smart watches and others the phenomenon is becoming alarming.

    “But in our own case, as these children are getting wiser, we too are getting ahead of them,’’ he said.

    The registrar also called for adequate preparations and courseware development in order to stamp out the menace of examination malpractice.

  • WAEC to hold exam malpractice summit

    WAEC to hold exam malpractice summit

    THE International office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is to hold an international examination malpractice summit between October 19 and 20 to address the menace of examination malpractice.

    WAEC Registrar Dr. Iyi Uwadiae told reporters at a briefing yesterday that all member-countries of WAEC – The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone – will participate in the summit scheduled to hold at the Academy Inn, WAEC International Office, Agidingbi, Lagos.

    Emeritus Professor Pai Obanya will deliver the keynote address on the theme: “Examination malpractice: The contemporary realities and antidotes.”

    Uwadiae lamented that examination malpractice was on the rise despite efforts of the council to curb it – with number of cases growing three-folds in a 24-year period.

    He said: “Misguided candidates and their adult collaborators, sometimes including school authorities, teachers, parents and, most recently, operators of rogue websites, have continued to devise ingenious and sophisticated methods of cheating, leading to an exponential increase in reported cases of fraud in public examinations. For instance, in the May/June 1993 WASSCE in Nigeria, the results of only 58,494candidates were withheld because of examination malpractice, but by WASSCE for school candidates 2017, the number of candidates’ results similarly withheld had shot up to 214,952.

    “We have done everything humanly possible to check malpractice. It is taking a new dimension where the lives of WAEC staff are threatened. They (candidates) are now armed. They now come to the hall with guns. For private candidates, they do that; for school candidates, some go to war with chemical weapons, putting drugs in the drinks of supervisors.”

    Other papers to be delivered at the two-day event include: “Examination malpractice: A threat to national development” by Prof Jonathan A. Fletcher (Ghana); “Technology and examination malpractice” by Prof. Jonas Redwood Sawyerr (Sierra Leone); “Statutory provisions against examination malpractice” by S. P. Binga (ICPC, Nigeria); and “International collaborations in curbing examination malpractice” by Prof. Pierre Gomez (The Gambia).

    Registrars/CEOs of WAEC, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), NECO and NABTEB and others are also presenting papers at the summit.

     

     

  • SSCE: WAEC releases results, 59.22% pass

    SSCE: WAEC releases results, 59.22% pass

    Precisely 59.22 per cent of 1,559,192 candidates who wrote the May/June 2017 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) made credits in five subjects, including English and Mathematics.
    Announcing the results yesterday (today) at the WAEC headquarters in Lagos, the Head of National Office (HNO), Mr Olu Adenipekun, said the performance was a significant improvement compared to last year, which was 52.97 per cent and 2015, which was 38.68 per cent.
    “There has been a significant improvement and it is our hope that this will continue and not just be a fluke.  We hope schools will take advantage of this to prepare students better for the examination,” he said.
    The HNO also said the council would begin conducting examinations for private candidates twice in a year from next year.
    Adenipekun however said two categories of candidates will have to wait for some of their results either to be released or cancelled.  Candidates in the first group (95,734) has some of their results being processed because of errors traceable to them while 214,952 others are being investigated for involvement in examination malpractices.
    “The results of 214,952 candidates, representing 13.79 per cent of the total candidature for 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 in due course for consideration.  The committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their schools,” he said.
    Adenipekun said WAEC was able to achieve its Project 60 target of releasing the result 60 days after the examination ended thanks to improved ICT facilities and training of its workers.  He added that the Council would work towards even earlier releases in future.
    “We came up with Project 60, a self-imposed time limit for candidates to wait for release of result after the examination.  We are hoping to be able to release the result even faster.  We are looking at 45 days next time,” he said.
    Regarding the conduct of two separate examinations for private candidates yearly, Adenipekun said the decision was taken at 65th Annual Council Meeting of WAEC member countries in Abuja in March.
     “One of the major highlights of the outcomes of the meeting was the approval granted to member countries to conduct the WASSCE for private candidates, twice in a year.  I am happy to inform you that the Nigeria National Office of the Council has concluded arrangements to commence the conduct of the additional diet of the WASSCE for private candidates from January/February, 2018,” he said.