WAEC NEWS

ADDRESS BY DR.IYI UWADIAE, mnim, HEAD OF THE NIGERIA NATIONAL OFFICE OF THE WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL AT A MEDIA BRIEFING TO ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF THE RESULTS OF THE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION (WASSCE),ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23,2010 AT WAEC NATIONAL OFFICE,YABA, LAGOS

Gentlemen of the media, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this media briefing –the third of such briefing this year.

It is indeed a privilege and honour to have you here today. On behalf of the management and staff of the Nigeria National Office of the West African Examination Council, I thank you, most sincerely, for your usual positive response to our invitations and for the cordial relationship and mutual understanding which existed between us throughout the year. It is my sincere wish that this cordial relationship would continue in the coming year.

Gentlemen of the media, let me also use the opportunity of this briefing to, once again, express our profound gratitude to our Supervisors, Invigilators and Custodians for their dedication to duty during the conduct of the November/December 2010 West African Senior School Certificate (WASSCE). Similarly, our sincere appreciation goes to our Chief Examiners, Team Leaders and Assistant Examiners for their immeasurable contributions to the successful conduct of the November 2010 marking exercise in spite of the short notice. The Management of the Council is indeed very grateful to these noble men and women for their sense of patriotism and service to the nation and for their sacrifices in the interest of the education of the Nigerian child.

Gentlemen of the media, at the 50th meeting of the Nigerian Examinations Committee of the Council held at the Excellence Hotel and Conference Centre, Ogba-Ikeja, Lagos, from November 30 to December 2, 2010; the Committee, which is the highest decision-making organ of the council on the conduct of examinations in Nigeria, as in all its previous meetings made some very salient observations. These observations, which were subsequently released via a communiqué, are worth reiterating here for the benefit of all stakeholders in the education sector.

In the course of considering the various reported cases of malpractice during the conduct of the May/June 2010 WASSCE, the committee, as always, strongly expressed deep concern at the rife incidence of malpractice in examinations in Nigeria and wondered how the nation had got to this sorry pass. The Committee observed that all sectors of national life, not only the education sector, were malpractice ridden as a result of the collapse of the nation’s value system and strongly noted that there was a very urgent need for the re-engineering of the nation’s value system.

The Committee, once again, also decried the dearth of qualified teachers , inadequate and dilapidated classrooms, inadequate teaching aids and other facilities in most of the secondary schools in the country and passionately appealed to all Governments (Federal and State ), and other stakeholders and indeed proprietors of private schools to address the situation urgently. The Committee also appealed for substantial improvement in the funding of the education sector in order to improve the quality of education in the country and subsequently of performance in public examinations. The Committee also called on the ministries of education to ensure to ensure that only schools with necessary facilities to function as schools are duly approved and registered.

Today, Gentlemen of the media, I am delighted to announce the release of the results of the November/December 2010 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, (WASSCE), Two weeks ahead of schedule.

A total of 324,998 candidates registered for the examination, out of which 310.077 candidates consisting of 168,835 male and 141,242 female candidates sat the examination.

Out of the total number of candidates that registered,309,431 candidates representing 95.2%,have their results fully processed, while 15,567 candidates, representing 4.79% have a few of their subjects still being processed, as various errors ad omissions mostly traceable to them are being sorted out by the Council. These errors were committed during the online registration and the actual conduct of the examination.

The results of 51,876 candidates, representing 16.73% are being withheld, based on various reports of their alleged involvement in examination malpractice.
Statistics show that 250,487 candidates representing 80.78% have two credits and above; 217,161 candidates (70.03), have three credits and above; while 180,480 candidates (58.20), have four credits and above. Furthermore, 141,167 candidates (45.52%), obtained five credits and above, while 99,750 candidates (32.16%) obtained six credits and above.

A total of 133,507 candidates (43.06%) obtained credit and above in English, while 151,569 candidates (48.88%) obtained credit and above in Mathematics.

From the total number of candidates who sat the examination, however, 62,295 candidates, representing (20.04%) obtained credits in English language, Mathematics and at least three other subjects.

A total number of 33 blind candidates sat the examination, and from this figure, 4 candidates, representing (12.12%), obtained credits in five subjects, including English Language. Blind candidates are exempted from taking mathematics and science practicals in WASSCE diets.

All the reports on the cases of involvement in examination malpractice have been compiled for presentation to the Nigeria Examinations Committee of the Council in March 2011. The Committee’s decision on the various cases will be communicated to the affected candidates shortly, through our zonal and branch offices.

Candidates who sat the examination will be able to check the details of their performance with their scratch cards on our result checking website: www.waecdirect .org within the next 24 hours.

Finally, on behalf of the management of the Nigeria National Office of the Council, I also wish to express my deep appreciation to our staff for their commitment to duty and for working tirelessly in order to ensure that the results were released well ahead of schedule.

Distinguished Gentlemen of the media, once again, on behalf of the management of the Nigeria National Office of the Council, I thank you for finding time to attend this briefing.
I wish you all a merry Christmas and prosperous new year in advance.

Thank you and God bless.