As the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) releases the results of candidates who wrote the 2022/2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, Two Hundred and Sixty-Two Thousand, Eight Hundred and Three (262,803) candidates’ results are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.
Reasons for this are all connected to unwillingness of candidates to take their studies seriously while expecting someone else to help them in the exams.
WAEC Head of National Office in Nigeria, Patrick Areghan disclosed this in a press briefing on Monday where a breakdown of candidates’ general performance in the WASSCE was also reeled out.
He noted how schools, supervisors, teachers and candidates are involved in perpetrating the illegality, thereby undermining Nigeria’s educational system.
Candidates’ performance
A total of One Million, Six Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty Four (1,621,884) candidates registered for the examination from Twenty Thousand, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Seven (20,867) recognised secondary schools in the country.
Of the number that registered for the examination, One Million, Six Hundred and Thirteen Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty-Three (1,613,733) candidates sat the examination.
Of the total number of One Million, Six Hundred and Thirteen Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty-Three (1,613,733) candidates that sat the examination, Seven Hundred and Ninety Four Thousand, Two Hundred and Eighty (794,280) were males while Eight Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty-Three (819,453) were females, representing 49.22%% and 50.78%, respectively.
The analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates in the examination shows that out of the One Million, Six Hundred and Thirteen Thousand, seven Hundred and Thirty-Three (1,613,733) candidates that sat the examination, One Million, Three Hundred and Sixty-One Thousand, Six Hundred and Eight (1,361,608) candidates, representing 84.38%, obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five (5) subjects (i.e with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics;
One Million, Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven, Nine Hundred and Twenty (1,287,920) candidates, representing 79.81%, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Of this number, Six Hundred and Sixteen Thousand, Nine Hundred and Fourteen (616,914) i.e. 47.9% were male candidates, while Six Hundred and Seventy-One Thousand and Six (671,006) i.e. 52.1% were female candidates. The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2022, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 76.36%. Thus, there is 3.45% decrease in performance in this regard.
Results being processed
Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination in Nigeria, One Million, Four Hundred and Seventy-Six Thousand, Five Hundred and Sixty-Five (1,476,565) candidates, representing 91.5% have their results fully processed and released while One Hundred and Thirty-Seven Thousand, One Hundred and Sixty-Eight (137,168) candidates, representing 8.5% have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some shortcomings, non-challant, lethargy, incomplete CASS upload, disobedience of rubrics, etc associated with the schools and candidates concerned.
However, the WAEC chief said efforts were being made to complete the resolution process to enable all the affected candidates to speedily get their results fully processed and released within the next couple of days.
Still on malpractices figures
The candidates engaged in malpractices represent 16.29% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination.
This is (6.54%) lower than the 22.83% recorded in the WASSCE for School Candidates in 2022.
Reasons for the malpractices
According to the WAEC boss, the major reason for such occurrences is the unwillingness of candidates to study.
“Candidates are no longer ready to study, they lack self-confidence and preparations for examinations are poor. There is over-reliance on the so-called ‘Expo’, which is non-existent,” he noted.
“Candidates got frustrated when they got to the examination hall and discovered that all they had celebrated was fake. This has pitiably led to some of them failing the examination, which, if they had relied on themselves and studied adequately, would have passed like many others.”
Another is instances of parents aiding and abetting their children in seeking unscrupulous means to pass the exams such as patronising websites purportedly leaking exam questions and answers.
Another factor is the use of moble phones in exam venues despite the existing ban. This aides the schools in *organised cheating”.
Sanctions
Areghan revealed that sanctions would continually be metted out in all cases of examination malpractices.
He urged parents to stop indulging their children in examination malpractices as the child’s future is being destroyed in the process.
“Parents must stop funding the so-called ‘expo’ for their children; it does not help. Those who indulge in posting items on designated platforms do not mean well for the candidates. They are simply destroying the future of our children. We can assure you that perpetrators and beneficiaries of such ‘help’ will never go unpunished. This must not be allowed to continue. It is our collective responsibility to defeat this evil.”
He said that all the reported cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for consideration and final decisions.
The Committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools in due course.
Seeking redress
Candidates affected by these decisions are allowed to call for redress if they so wish.
The WAEC head said the decision to give room for that is to allow for “a fair hearing and thus, maintaining their fundamental human right.”
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