AT inception in 1952, not many people would have imagined that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) idea could stand the test of time. The thought of having the first four: Nigeria, The Gambia, Ghana and Sierra Leone come together to establish a body to conduct examinations and issue certificates during colonial rule, had been dismissed by sceptics as a short term project.Following the acceptance of the Jeffrey Report by the then colonial governments of the first four countries, appropriate ordinances were passed in their respective legislative assemblies, leading to the birth of WAEC. Liberia was to later join in 1974.Despite fears, the idea has endured. Not only that, WAEC has grown to become a force to be reckoned with, standing out as, arguably, Africa's most credible examination body at the moment. Although, it has also, over the years, gone through many challenges, some of which were self-inflicted, WAEC's certificates are still the most respected in Nigeria and the council's examinations have been written by all those, who were born in the country after 1952.The razzmatazz warped around the 60th council meeting, held in Abuja for the whole of last week was thus understandable. It was a reunion of some sort, with delegates from all the member countries dressed gorgeously, sharing banters and engaging in effusive backslapping to the admiration of onlookers.However, the council's experiences in Nigeria have been of a mixed nature, with success on one hand and numerous challenges on the other. For instance, the delay in processing withheld results in the past, the discovery of a few staff members colluding with crooks to compromise examination questions which had led to leakages, and the idea of cancelling the entire results of an examination centre due to mass cheating, had led to virulent, verbal attacks on the council.Nevertheless, the Nigerian National Office has risen up to the occasion, flushing out fraudulent staff members once they are caught and improving on services to its clients, especially with the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities.It was through its trusted grading system, designed to reward only the worthy, that the daughter of an Evangelist, Miss Christianah Opeyemi Adeloye emerged the National Distinction Merit Award winner in the 2011 May/June WASSCE. The 17-year-old native of Ogun State and former student of Charis International College, Abeokuta, scored an aggregate of 682.32 in the best eight subjects to achieve the feat. Her WASSCE results were: Economics-1, Geography-1, English Language-1, Yoruba Language-1, Mathrmatics-1, Agricultural Science-1, Biology-1 and Physics-1. Not only that, Opeyemi also emerged the third prize-winner in the International Excellence Award (IEA) category, which recognises the best three candidates across all the member countries.The first prize in the IEA category went to Ann Abena Antwiwaa Sakyi, from Ghana, whose total score in the best eight subjects was 695.9; while the second prize went to Hameed Irbaz, a Pakistani, who wrote his WASSCE in Ghana, with a total score of 691.5.Also in the National Distinction Merit Award category, Iyeyinka Omigbodun, a former student of Louisville Girls' High School, Ijebu-Itele, Ogun State, who was born in the United States of America, and whose parents are both professors, came second with a total score of 680.7 in the best eight subjects. She had A1 in Literature in English, English Language, Yoruba Language, Further Mathematics, Mathematics, Agricultural Science, Chemistry and Physics.Kanayo Uduani Nwigbo, an indigene of Ebonyi state and former student of Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ojo, Lagos, emerged third in this category with a score of 675.2 in the best eight subjects. She also made A1 in Economics, English Language, Geography, Mathematics, Agricultural Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.Going down the memory lane, Registrar of the Council, Mrs. Mulikat Bello, averred that from an entry figure of only 718 candidates, who sat for its maiden examination in December 1952, the total entry figure for the council's examination hit the three million mark in 2011.Registration of candidates for the council's examinations, she noted, has gone from manual to electronic, while examination results are now to be checked online. Its certificates, she added, are now photo-embossed.Bello continued, 'WAEC conducts national and international examinations for candidates in the five member countries. In addition, the council conducts aptitude and selection tests for governments, organizations, institutions and employers of labour and administers various examinations on behalf of other examination boards.'The council's national examinations include, the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), which is conducted for candidates in The Gambia, Ghana and Sierra Leone, the General Business Certificate Examination (GBCE) and the Advanced Business Certificate Examination (ABCE) which are conducted for candidates in Ghana, the National Primary School Examination (MPSE) which is conducted for candidates in Sierra Leone, the National Assessment Test (NAT), which conducted for candidates in The Gambia and the Junior and Senior High School Certificate Examinations, which are for candidates in Liberia. Nigeria is the only member country that does not patronise WAEC for the conduct of national examinations. The council's international examination is the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).'On patronage, Bello revealed that for 2011, the council's main national examinations recorded a total candidature of 692, 712 made up of 76, 915 candidates or 11.10 per cent (The Gambia), 377, 840 or 54 per cent (Ghana); 58, 828 or 8.49 per cent (Liberia) and 179, 129 or 25.85 per cent Sierra Leone.In the same year, the council's total candidature for WASSCE was 2, 300, 189 candidates (for both May/June and Nov/Dec diets), made up of 12, 475 or 0.54 per cent (The Gambia); 287, 965 or 12.51 per cent (Ghana); 1, 943, 936 or 84.51 per cent (Nigeria) and 55, 813 or 2.42 per cent (Sierra Leone).Bello stated that release of results now takes shorter periods than before. According to her, the period of processing WASSCE results has been reduced from an average of 131days in 2008 to an average of 84 days in 2011 for the May diet, and from 134 days to 75 days for the Nov diet within the same period.On examination malpractice, the Registrar declared, 'it will interest you to know that the Nov/Dec 2011 WASSCE was the seventh consecutive leakage-free examination in Nigeria. For national examinations, the Dec 2011 series marked the ninth consecutive leakage free series in all member countries.'However, I must hasten to point out that other forms of examination malpractice have persisted in the council's examinations in all member countries. Principal among these are collusion, mass cheating, the use of cell phones to cheat, impersonation and the non-appearance syndrome, which is perhaps peculiar to Nigeria for now.'Examination malpractice, in whatever form it takes, is a societal problem that has its roots mainly in the candidates' lack of self-confidence and their fear of failure, both of which stem from inadequate preparation for the examination. Of course, there are a whole lot of other factors, including misplaced societal values that can aid the breeding and perpetration of examination fraud. It is my humble opinion that the point at which to start the fight against examination malpractice is the provision of facilities and equipment in schools, recruitment, training and retention of the right quality and number of teachers, creation of an atmosphere that is conducive for teaching and learning, promulgation and enforcement of relevant legislations and public sensitisation and advocacy against the evil that examination fraud constitutes.'Chairman of the council, Prof. Jonas Redwood-Sawyerr affirmed that Nigeria 'remains an esteemed member of the WAEC family.' He stated that Nigeria's vast population 'is a source of strength and her great human and material potentials are available for the council to tap from in the discharge of its mandate.'As part of the activities, the Endowment Fund Lecture, with the title: 'Nipping Educational Failure in the Bud,' was delivered by Prof Pius Obanya. Besides, two eminent citizens were conferred with the distinguished friend of Council Award. They were Mrs. Margaret Shonekan, a former head of the Nigeria National Office and Prof. Ifedioramma Nwana.
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