The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has reacted to a call by a Northern Youth Forum for the rejection of the Computer Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) meant for Private Candidates.
A press statement issued on Monday by the council’s Acting Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola F. Adesina partly reads: “The attention of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has been drawn to a media report stating that a youth forum has called for the rejection of the planned Computer Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for Private Candidates – First Series, 2024.”
The said the examination to be conducted by WAEC Nigeria is scheduled to hold between January 31 and February 17, 2024.
According to spokesperson, the agitation for the rejection of the CB-WASSCE was in response to an earlier media report in which WAEC purportedly announced that it had ditched the Paper and Pencil Testing model and had adopted the Computer Based Testing model for the conduct of the School Candidates’ Examination.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the West African Examinations Council hereby states unequivocally, that it had never announced the adoption of the Computer Based Testing model for the conduct of the WASSCE for School
Candidates, 2024; therefore, the media report under reference is false and misleading. Recall that a Press Release was issued in November 2023 stating that plans had been concluded for WAEC Nigeria to conduct its first-ever examination using the Computer Based Testing model in the upcoming WASSCE for Private Candidates- First Series, 2024.
“Furthermore, in an interview published by Punch Newspaper on November 30, 2023, the Head of
National Office, WAEC Nigeria, Dr Amos Josiah Dangut, confirmed that the Computer Based Testing model would not be applied to the WASSCE for School Candidates just yet. He stated that there was still a lot to be done to equip schools with the needed infrastructure, resources and adequately trained manpower to engage and cooperate with WAEC for the conduct of CB-WASSCE for School Candidates. He also clarified that the introduction of CB-WASSCE is currently exclusive to the First Series of the Private Candidates’ examination which, since its inception, has been conducted in urban areas, ” She explained.
“Meanwhile, the Council is not unaware of possible challenges that may be encountered by candidates during the conduct of the examination. To this end, a trial test and a free mock examination have been scheduled to take place on WAEC’s designated platforms for prospective candidates, whether secondary school students or out-of-school individuals, to familiarise themselves with the testing environment, prior to the commencement of the WASSCE for Private Candidates – First Series, 2024. Notification for the mock examination will be sent to prospective candidates through their emails. Announcements for the scheduled mock examination will also be made through mainstream and new media. In addition, candidates are also advised to visit WAEC Nigeria’s website and social media spaces for relevant information and guidelines on how to navigate the CB-WASSCE
platform, ” Adesina further explained.
She went on to state that WAEC Nigeria has engaged the services of CBT centres across the Country,
checked their suitability to host candidates for the CB-WASSCE, throughout
its duration.
