WAEC withholds WASSCE results of 599 candidates, releases others

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), says the results of 599 candidates out of the 7,289 candidates who sat for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2021-First Series are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.

The Head of National Office, Mr. Patrick Areghan who made the announcement on Tuesday said the 599 candidates represented just 8.22% of the total results released on Tuesday.

“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 directly to the affected candidates in due course.

“This low number is as a result of the rigorous monitoring/inspection of centres embarked upon by the Council’s staff throughout the duration of the examination”, he said.

Areghan said analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates shows that out of the 7,289 candidates that sat the examination: 2,938 candidates representing 40.31% obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects (with or without English Language and/or Mathematics; out of which 1,396 were male and 1,542 were female candidates, representing 47.52% and 52.48 % respectively; 2,195) candidates representing 30.11%obtained credits and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

“Of this number, 1,074 i.e. 48.93% were male candidates, while 1,121 i.e. 51.07% were female candidates. The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2019 and 2020, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, were 26.08% and 32.23% respectively. Thus, there is a marginal decrease of 2.12% in performance in this regards”, said HNO.

Areghan stressed that the number of candidates that had five credits, including English Language and Mathematics might not necessarily be a basis for judging the level of performance in this examination.

“This is because the examination is more or less a remedial one. Some candidates may just need only one or two papers, other than English Language and /or Mathematics to remedy their admission deficiencies”, he added.

HNO said that a total of 23 candidates with varying degrees of Special Needs were registered for the examination. Out of this number, Six were visually challenged, Two had impaired hearing; Five were Albino; One was spastic cum mentally challenged, and nine were physically challenged, saying all these candidates with special needs were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination.

Candidates who sat the examination are now free to check the details of their performance on the Council’s results website: www.waecdirect.org. The Result Checker PIN and Serial Number needed by candidates to check their results online are contained on the candidate’s Smart Identity Card used during the conduct of the examination.