The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has opened up on the challenges encountered during this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination which affected the conduct of the examinations.
The regional examination body particularly speak Computer-Based option of the exam (CB-WASSCE). The organisation acknowledged the challenges encountered by candidates during the CB-WASSCE exam.
It assured the candidates that the challenges and glitches they encountered would not affect their results, as mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that candidates’ performance and results are not hampered by events beyond their control.
The examination body’s Head of National Office, Dr Amos Josiah Dangut, gave the assurance when the National Executive of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) visited him.
Recall that many Candidates who sat for the Mathematics and Agricultural Science papers in several states were forced to write their examinations late into the evening due to delays in the delivery of question papers and answer booklets.
The examination body cited security concerns, logistics, and the death of some staff members in Gombe, which affected operations in three states, for the hiccup.
But Dangut, while addressing the NAN delegate, led by its General Secretary, Comrade Oladimeji Usman, said the challenges encountered would not affect the candidates’ results.
“We have standard procedures for addressing every challenge. Whatever glitches occurred will not affect candidates’ performance because we have mechanisms to detect and correct them,” he said.
He reiterated the examination body’s commitment to releasing the 2026 CB-WASSCE results on August 3, warning that candidates sponsored by indebted stakeholders could experience delays until the outstanding payments are made.
“We appeal to all indebted stakeholders to settle their obligations within the next 10 days so that no candidate will be disadvantaged,” he said.
He stressed that the reforms and the deployment of technology have significantly reduced examination malpractice, despite resistance from individuals affected by the changes.
He said WAEC remains committed to conducting credible examinations and has strengthened its monitoring systems through a cyber surveillance centre capable of detecting examination malpractice in real time.
“We now have a cyber monitoring centre that detects every area where malpractice is taking place and alerts the council immediately. This year’s examination recorded a significant reduction in malpractice, and there was no leakage of examination papers,” he said.
The General Secretary of NANS, Comrade Usman, commended the examination body and urged it to prioritise students’ welfare.
“The way forward has been charted, and there are positive results. During the last examinations, we had some students who wrote exams late at night and then we put a call to your office and there were some reasons that were given to us that led to that ugly incident.
“And then we have no report from our students of that ugly incident,” he said
