BY DAYO ADESULU
The West African Examination Council (WAEC), has revealed the reasons students’ performances dropped in the 2022 West African Senior School Certificate Examination as released Monday, August 8, 2022.
WAEC’s Head of National Office, Nigeria, Mr Patrick Areghan who spoke to journalists at the Council’s corporate office, Yaba, Lagos said a lot of factors were responsible for the drop in candidates’ performances compared to 2021.
He said that candidates are no longer ready to learn, adding that their preparations for examinations are equally poor. According to him, candidates relied more on examination malpractice which gullibly believed is available through the internet and special centres.
Lamenting the decadence in examination malpractice, Areghan disclosed that the results of three hundred and sixty-five thousand, five hundred and sixty-four (365,564) candidates, representing 22.83% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice. He pointed out that this is (11.74%) higher than the 10.9% recorded in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2021.
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Areghan decried: ”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. This has pitiably led to some of them failing the examination, which if they had relied on themselves and studied hard, would have passed like many others.”
He posited: ”The activities of rogue website operators and the so-called miracle centres did not go unnoticed and unpunished as the Council was able to identify and apprehend these unpatriotic fellows through the help of security operatives. A few supervisors and invigilators who were caught aiding and abetting examination malpractice were also brought to book. They are currently charting with the Police all over the federation.
”The Council, on its part, through the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC), will mete out appropriate sanctions to affected supervisors, through the various State Ministries of Education.”
He vowed: ”The Council will continue to sanction all cases of examination malpractice. 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 ‘expos’ 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 sanitize the system. The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organized cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues.
”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.” The Committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools, in due course.”
