… 10.9% results withheld — WAEC
West African Examination Council, (WAEC,) on Monday disclosed that about 81% of the students that sat for the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination obtained five credit passes including English language and Mathematics.
Giving the breakdown and analysis of the results, the Head of National Office, West African Examination Council, WAEC, Patrick Areghan said a total of One million, Five hundred and seventy–three thousand, eight hundred and Forty-Nine (1,573,849) candidates registered for the examination from Nineteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty Five (19,425) recognised secondary schools in the country. Of the number that registered for the examination, One Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty One (1,560,261) candidates sat the examination.
He noted that : ” The analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates in the examination shows that out of the One Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty One (1,560,261) candidates that sat the examination, “One Million, Three Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy (1,398,370) candidates, representing 89.62%, obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five (5) subjects (i.e with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics;
“One Million, Two Hundred and Seventy Four Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighty-Four (1,274,784) candidates, representing 81.7%, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
“Of this number, Six Hundred and Thirty Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty-Eight (630,138) i.e. 49.43% were male candidates, while Six Hundred and Forty-Four Thousand, Six Hundred and Forty-Six (644,646) i.e. 50.57% were female candidates.
“The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2020, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 65.24%. Thus, there is an appreciable 16.46% improvement in performance in this regard.
“The results of One Hundred and Seventy Thousand, One Hundred and Forty-Six (170,146) candidates, representing 10.9% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.
“Of great worry here is the activities of rogue-website operators and some other social media platforms, who post-examination questions online immediately after the commencement of the paper being administered.
“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organized cheating in some schools, are other big concerns. All the cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for determination in due course. The Committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools.” He said.
Meanwhile, the WAEC boss reiterated that candidates who meet the financial obligations of WAEC can check their results, those candidates found indebtedness in one way or the other will not have their results uploaded.
His words: ” The results are being uploaded on the results website. Candidates who sat for the examination and who have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Council can access their performance on the Council’s results website: www.waecdirect.org.
Needless to restate fact that the results of indebted candidates/Schools/States will not be released until they pay up.
” The Result Checker PIN and Serial Number required by candidates to check their results online are contained on the Candidate’s Smart Identity Card used during the conduct of the examination. Certificates of candidates whose results have been fully processed and released will be ready within the next 90 days, counting from Monday.” He said.