WAEC count blessings at 70, to honour best 2021 WASSCE candidate, school
As the Management of West African Examinations Council (WAEC) gears to hold its &0the Council Meeting at the Federal Capital, Abuja on March 14, it has disclosed that the meeting coincides with platinum anniversary deserves celebrating because of the landmark successes the regional Anglophone examination body has recorded in its 70 years of existence.
Head of Nigeria’s national office of WAEC, Mr. Patrick Ehidiamen who disclosed this in a pre-conference press briefing in Lagos, stated that the success of the West African Examinations Council is hinged on the support it garners from the government of the five member countries, “most especially the Nigeria National Office, which holds a lot for the impressive score card that it flaunts in the comity of Educational Assessment Institutions.”
He stated that WAEC owes a lot of gratitude to the governments and good people of its member nations. “I therefore, wish to use the opportunity provided by this occasion to express appreciation to all stakeholders in the education sector, for the huge amounts of funding, human and material resources, which have gone into the Council’s operations and activities in the past 70 years. I also wish to appeal for greater cooperation, support, encouragement and goodwill from all stakeholders in order to give the Council assurances of further successes, achievements and continued existence in the years ahead,” he stated.
According to him in member countries, WAEC conducts the international West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), various national examinations that are peculiar to each country and aptitude or selection tests. He added that improving the performance of candidates should be the goal of all of us, hence, the Research Department of WAEC has continued to conduct studies on how to improve stakeholders performance and other important educational issues in the member countries, saying reports of these studies conducted by the Research Department are made available to stakeholders through the Council’s publications and websites, especially the WAEC Chief Examiners’ Reports.
Ehidiamen stated that this year’s nnnual council meeting which coincides with the platinum anniversary of the Council, promises to be a groundbreaking event, saying though holding both virtually and physically, various awards would be presented to deserving awardees and personalities from Nigeria and other member countries under the auspices of the WAEC Endowment Fund, International Excellence and National Distinction/ Merit Awards in respect of WASSCE for School Candidates, 2021 are going to be presented to deserving candidates..
He disclosed that an interesting part of the remarkable event would be the 27th Endowment Fund Lecture which will hold on Monday, March 14, 2022 at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. The lecture will be delivered by an eminent scholar, Professor Ngozi Azuka Osarenren from the Educational Foundation Department of the University of Lagos. Also, one of the major highlights of the event would be the Formal Opening Ceremony which will be performed by the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.
He added that “during the formal opening ceremony, as earlier stated, awards will be presented to the Winners of the International Excellence and National Distinction/Merit Awards. The Omo N’ Oba Erediauwa Coronation Awards will be presented to the Best Male and Best Female candidates while the Augustus Bandel
Oyediran Trophy Award will be presented to the school with the Best Aggregate Result in WASSCE for School Candidates, 2021.”
Ehidiamen said that during the ceremony, “we shall witness the conferment of the prestigious Award of ‘Distinguished Friend of Council’ on two eminent Nigerian personalities. Also, the Investiture of the vice chairman of Council will take place during the formal opening ceremony.”
Ehidiamen also noted the disruptive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on all human endeavours since the past two years, saying the education sector has equally been worse off.
According to him, it has not been easy for the Council to carry out its operations and activities since the year 2020. Therefore, to have survived the topsy-turvy period and successfully carried out all its activities and operations is a big achievement. “WAEC Nigeria, nay, in the sub-region, deserves all the accolades in the world. Hence, the 70th anniversary of the Council is worth celebrating,” he stated.
Ehifiamen disclosed that most aspects of WAEC’s operations and activities have been computerised, even as he saidmthat the Council’s transactions and interactions with stakeholders across the globe are internet-driven. “The Council has therefore, continued to upgrade and install modern equipment and state-of-the-art facilities in line with global trends. It also seeks to satisfy the expectations of its stakeholders through efficient service delivery. Over the years, the Nigeria National Office of the Council has consistently maintained very active and informative websites, in addition to other Information Communication Technology (ICT) installations, towards the accomplishment of the Council’s goals. With the use of ICT, we have reduced the period for the processing of results of WASSCE for School Candidates from an average of 84 days in the past, to an average of 45 days now. The compression is still ongoing,” he said.
He expressed the Council’s appreciation of the government at various levels for the many years of collaboration with our organisation and for sustaining the relationship. “By extension, we are thankful to the Honourable Minister of Education, the Honourable Commissioners for Education, the Federal and State Ministries of Education and their officials who have spared no effort over the years in sustaining the relationship and collaboration between WAEC and the Nigerian Government.” He further paid tributes to the chairman and members of the Nigeria Administrative and Finance Committee for their invaluable contributions to the efforts of WAEC. “They are the reason for our success. We thank them all,” he said.
Oyediran Trophy Award will be presented to the school with the Best Aggregate Result in WASSCE for School Candidates, 2021.”
Ehidiamen said that during the ceremony, “we shall witness the conferment of the prestigious Award of ‘Distinguished Friend of Council’ on two eminent Nigerian personalities. Also, the Investiture of the vice chairman of Council will take place during the formal opening ceremony.”
Ehidiamen also noted the disruptive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on all human endeavours since the past two years, saying the education sector has equally been worse off.
According to him, it has not been easy for the Council to carry out its operations and activities since the year 2020. Therefore, to have survived the topsy-turvy period and successfully carried out all its activities and operations is a big achievement. “WAEC Nigeria, nay, in the sub-region, deserves all the accolades in the world. Hence, the 70th anniversary of the Council is worth celebrating,” he stated.
Ehifiamen disclosed that most aspects of WAEC’s operations and activities have been computerised, even as he saidmthat the Council’s transactions and interactions with stakeholders across the globe are internet-driven. “The Council has therefore, continued to upgrade and install modern equipment and state-of-the-art facilities in line with global trends. It also seeks to satisfy the expectations of its stakeholders through efficient service delivery. Over the years, the Nigeria National Office of the Council has consistently maintained very active and informative websites, in addition to other Information Communication Technology (ICT) installations, towards the accomplishment of the Council’s goals. With the use of ICT, we have reduced the period for the processing of results of WASSCE for School Candidates from an average of 84 days in the past, to an average of 45 days now. The compression is still ongoing,” he said.
He expressed the Council’s appreciation of the government at various levels for the many years of collaboration with our organisation and for sustaining the relationship. “By extension, we are thankful to the Honourable Minister of Education, the Honourable Commissioners for Education, the Federal and State Ministries of Education and their officials who have spared no effort over the years in sustaining the relationship and collaboration between WAEC and the Nigerian Government.” He further paid tributes to the chairman and members of the Nigeria Administrative and Finance Committee for their invaluable contributions to the efforts of WAEC. “They are the reason for our success. We thank them all,” he said.