Prof. Ato Essuman from Ghana has been elected as the 20th Chairman of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
He was elected at the 69th Annual Meeting (AGM) of the Governing Board (Council) which ended on March 21, 2021 in Ghana.
Prof. Essumans election is for a three-year tenure (March 2021 to March 2024) in line with the Councils Convention and he is to succeed Mr. Baboucarr Bouy from Gambia, who was elected in March 2018.
The 69th Meeting, which was held online from March 22 to 26, 2021, was declared open by Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,, according to a statement from WAEC’S Head of Public Affairs, Abiodun Aduloju.
In his keynote address, President Akufo-Addo described WAEC as a dominant institution in the West African sub-region which had consistently produced leaders in various fields of endeavour and a workforce to drive the economy.
He commended WAEC for regularly generating reports and statistics to guide the member countries in policy formulation and implementation.
He also congratulated the Council on the successful execution of its mandate in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
He, however, decried the spate of examination malpractice in the sub-region and promised greater collaboration between his government and WAEC to curb the malaise.
Delegates from the member countries who attended the five-day AGM included government nominees and representatives of the ministries of education, universities, secondary schools and other interest groups.
The Governing Council also considered the action plans presented by the Headquarters and National Offices for their operations in the current year.
The council called for more collaborative efforts by the stakeholders in education to stop all forms of examination fraud in the sub-region.
It advocated the creation of a forum for regular interactions among the Ministers of Education of the member countries, in view of the benefits of such collaborative platforms for the development of education.
At the formal opening of the meeting, three candidates, all from Ghana, were honoured with the WAEC International Excellence Award for their outstanding performance in WASSCE for School Candidates for 2020.
Those honoured were Master Cecil Tetteh Kumah (1st Prize), Master Godfred Aseda Obeng (2nd Prize) and Miss Afua Manukure Ansah (3rd Prize), who were selected from a total of 2,122,844 candidates that sat the examination in the five member countries.
The meeting also featured the 26th Annual WAEC Endowment Fund Lectures titled “Treading on Slippery Ground: Calling Education to Account”, which was delivered by Prof. Kafui Etsey of the Department of Education and Psychology, University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
Aduloju disclosed that the 70th board meeting will be hosted by Nigeria in March 2022.