The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has said 72 per cent of the candidates who sat this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) got credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Addressing reporters yesterday while announcing the release of the results, WAEC’s Head of National Office (HNO), Dr. Josiah Dangut, gave a comparison of the percentage of the candidates in this category with those who wrote the same examination last year.
The HNO said this year’s results showed a 7.69 per cent decrease in performance; that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 79.81 per cent last year.
He said 73.79 per cent candidates obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects with or without English language and Mathematics.
Dangut said the results of 215,267 candidates, representing 11.92 per cent of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, were withheld for alleged examination malpractice. According to him, this is 4.37 per cent lower than the 16.29 per cent recorded last year
The HNO said 1,814,736 candidates registered for the examination from 25,126 recognised secondary schools in the country, but only 1,805,216 candidates sat the examination.
He expressed worry over the increasing use of cell phones in examination halls, despite the existing ban, saying organised cheating were recorded in some schools.
“All the cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate committee of the council for consideration and final decisions”, Dangut said.
The HNO said candidates who have fulfilled their financial obligations can access their results on its results website: www.waecdirect.org, within the next 12 hours.
He added that the results of candidates who were sponsored by states indebted to the council would not be released until they settle their indebtedness.
“We appeal to the concerned to do so to enable the affected schools/candidates access their results”, Dangut said.
