Funmi Ogundare
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), yesterday announced the release of the 2022 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.
The Head of Nigeria National Office (HNO), Mr. Patrick Areghan who briefed journalists in Lagos, said out of a total number of 1,601,047 candidates that sat the examination, 1,222, 505 candidates, representing 76.37 per cent obtained credits and above in a
minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Of this number, 597,811, which was 37.34 per cent were male candidates, while 624,694, that is 39.02 per cent were female candidates.
The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for school candidates in 2021, for those who obtained credit and above in a minimum
of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, he noted, was 81.70 per cent.
“Thus 796,217 were males while 804,830 were females, representing 49.737 per cent and 50.27 per cent, respectively,” he said.
Out of the total number of candidates that sat for the examination in the country, he said 1,437,629 candidates, representing 89.79 per cent have their results fully processed and released, while 163,418 candidates, representing 10.21 per cent have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some issues being resolved.
” Efforts are, however, being made to speedily complete the processing to enable all the affected candidates get
their results fully processed and released within the next one week.”
An analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates in the examination showed that out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, 1,409,529 candidates, representing 88.047 per cent, obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects (i.e with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics) which showed a 5.34 per cent decrease in performance.
The HNO said the results of 365,564 candidates, representing 22.83 per cent of the total number of candidates that sat the examination was withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice, adding that it was 11.747 per cent higher than the 10.9 per cent recorded in the WASSCE for school candidates in 2021.
“Reasons for this are not far-fetched – Candidates are no longer ready to learn. Preparations for examinations are poor. There is over-reliance on the so-called expo’, which is actually non-existent.
“Candidates simply got frustrated when they got into the examination hall and discovered that all they had celebrated was fake,” he added.
Areghan noted that this had pitiably led to some of them failing the examination, which if they had relied on themselves and studied hard, they would have passed like many others.
The council, the HNO noted, would continue to sanction all cases of examination malpractice, adding that schools, supervisors, teachers and candidates perpetrating this evil are not helping the educational system.
” It is the child whose future is being destroyed. Parents must stop funding ‘expo’ for their children; it does not help. Those who indulge in posting items on designated platforms are nothing but destiny destroyers. “Beneficiaries of such ‘help’ will never go unpunished as they will never have their results. All hands must be on deck to sanitise the system,” the HNO stressed.
