WAEC withholds results of 262,803 out of 1,613,733 candidates
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Niger tops debtor states whose candidates’ results in the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have been withheld by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
Zamfara is also a top debtor state, but its candidate did not write the examination this year, WAEC Nigeria Head of National Office Patrick Areghan explained in Lagos, where he said the results of a total 262,803 candidates across eight states were withheld.
Areghan produced the figures while giving details of the result of the WASSCE concluded 44 days ago.
He did not name the two remaining debtor states but expressed confidence some of the eight would soon pay up.
He also did not disclose the amount owed by the states, individually or collectively, but it was learnt the sum runs into hundreds of millions of naira.
“Zamfara and Niger states are the highest debtors. Again Zamfara did not present any candidate for this year’s WASSCE,” Areghan said.
“Candidates who have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Council can access their results on the Council’s website: www.waecdirect.org.
“After accessing their results, candidates can visit www.waec.org to confirm, share and download digital copies of their certificates! Copies of the Result Listing will be sent to schools shortly.
“I need to restate that the results of candidates sponsored by states indebted to the Council will not be released now until they pay up. We appeal to them to do so to enable the affected schools/candidates to access their results.”
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Breakdown of results released
Areghan said WAEC surmounted the challenges of insecurity and cash policy among others through technological innovation that saw over 91 per cent of candidates’ results released, per Vanguard reporting.
Of the total 1,613,733 candidates who sat for the examination, Areghan disclosed, 1,361,608 or 84.38 per cent obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five subjects, and 1,287,920 or 79.81 per cent credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English language and mathematics.
“The conduct of WASSCE for school candidates, 2023 ended on June 23, 2023, and today, Monday, August 7, 2023 – 44 days after the conduct of the last paper, one day short of the existing template – the result is being released,” he added.
“The council in Nigeria has not rested on its oars, it has rebuilt, reinvented, strengthened, and modernised its product and service delivery to all stakeholders and has continued to prioritise the use of technology in most of its operations to enhance the quality of its service delivery.
“This has positively impacted the prompt release of the result in focus, despite all the inconveniences encountered on the field such as insecurity, non-adherence to registration deadlines, financial issues, inflation, and rogue website operators.
“Today, I am happy to inform you that all the processes leading to the release of 2023 results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, for School Candidates, 2023, in Nigeria have been completed.”
Areghan, whose tenure will soon expire, also disclosed
- 20,867 recogniaed secondary schools in Nigeria presented candidates for this year’s examination, along with candidates from some schools in Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea where the Nigerian curriculum for Senior Secondary Schools is being used.
- Of the total number of candidates, 794,280 (49.22 per cent) were males and 819,453 (50.78 per cent) females.
- 137,168 candidates or 8.5 per cent have some of their subjects still being processed due to some shortcomings but they would get their full results in a few days.
“I am happy to announce that candidates who sat for the 2023 WASSCE and have no pending issue can access their results, including their certificates simultaneously.”