The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) said the planned Computer-Based Testing (CBT) model for the conduct of the 2024 examination was only scheduled for private candidates and would not be used for general school candidates.
The Acting Head of Public Affairs of WAEC Nigeria, Moyosola Adesina, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
The examination body announced on 13 November that it had dumped the paper and pencil test model and had adopted the Computer-Based Test mode for the conduct of the Senior School Certificate Examination.
Reacting to the report, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum called for the cancellation of the proposed Computer-Based Test format in the forthcoming West African Examinations Council examinations in the country.
According to the forum, introducing such a mode of examination will result in mass failure for students, particularly in rural areas where computer skills are scarce or completely absent.
Adesina further said contrary to speculations that the CBT model would be adopted for all categories of exams to be conducted by the council in 2024, it would only introduce the CBT model for private candidates examination only.
The statement noted that the council was aware of the infrastructural deficit that may undermine the successful implementation of the CBT across all its examination centres in Nigeria which was why it restricted the CBT model to private candidates who were majorly drawn from urban areas.
The statement read in part, “For the avoidance of doubt, the West African Examinations Council hereby states unequivocally, that it had never announced the adoption of the Computer Based Testing model for the conduct of the WASSCE for school candidates, 2024.
“In an interview published by The PUNCH Newspaper on 30 November 2023, the Head of National Office, WAEC Nigeria, Dr Amos Josiah Dangut, confirmed that the Computer Based Testing model would not be applied to the WASSCE for school candidates just yet.
“He stated that there was still a lot to be done to equip schools with the needed infrastructure, resources and adequately trained manpower to engage and cooperate with WAEC for the conduct of CB-WASSCE for school candidates”.
Adesina disclosed further that as part of effort to ensure that the CBT process was seamless, a trial test would be conducted for candidates to familiarise themselves with the model.
“Meanwhile, the council is not unaware of possible challenges that may be encountered by candidates during the conduct of the examination. To this end, a trial test and a free mock examination have been scheduled to take place on WAEC’s designated platforms for prospective candidates, whether secondary school students or out-of-school individuals, to familiarise themselves with the testing environment, prior to the commencement of the WASSCE for private candidates – First Series, 2024.
“WAEC Nigeria has engaged the services of CBT centres across the country and checked their suitability to host candidates for the CB-WASSCE, throughout its duration.
“As an organisation that prioritises excellence, innovation and professionalism as its core values, the general public can be assured that WAEC would not compromise its standard on quality assessment and global best practices, to ensure the smooth conduct of the WASSCE for Private Candidates – First Series, 2024”, the statement noted.
