By Ahmed Rahma
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced the release of the results of the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates (second series).
The head of the council in Nigeria, Mr Patrick Areghan, said only 39.82 per cent made credits in five subjects, including Mathematics and English Language.
However, he said the result is an improvement compared to the performance of candidates in the last two years.
In his words, “24,491 candidates, representing 39.82 per cent, obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
“Out of this number, 12,040, 49.16 per cent, were male candidates, while 12,451, 50.84 per cent were female candidates.
“The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for private candidates, 2018 and 2019, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, were 35.99 per cent and 35.10 per cent respectively. Thus, there is a marginal increase of 4.72 per cent in performance in this regard.”
Mr Areghan added that out of the 61,509 candidates who took the examination, 5,548 (9.02 per cent) had their results withheld because of alleged involvement in examination malpractice.
He further explained that the 66,375 candidates registered for the examination represented a 31.63 per cent decline in enrolment in the examination, which he said was due to COVID-19.
The council’s boss also disclosed the commencement of registration for the 2021 WASSCE for school candidates three months behind schedule stating that the delay was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We normally close earlier than now but because of the challenges in the education system, a lot of disruption has taken place. Some schools are still running third term.
“They do not have any SS3. So, because of this we had to take time to allow things to stabilise a bit. Today, we are going to roll out materials; schools will collect. They will enrol candidates and the date of the examination would be announced later,” he said.
