Students from eight states in Nigeria sat for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), held in June 2023, but their results were withheld by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) because their respective states were debtors to the council. The director of the national office, Patrick Areghan, disclosed this information during a press conference on Monday in Lagos.
While expressing confidence that some of the affected states would soon pay up, the council representative named Zamfara and Niger as the highest debtors.
Although Areghan did not specify how much each state individually or collectively owes, it is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of naira.
“However, Zamfara and Niger State owe the most.” “Once again, Zamfara did not submit a candidate for this year’s WASSCE,” Areghan said.
“Candidates who have met their financial obligations to the Council can access their results on the Council’s website: www.waecdirect.org,” he added. After viewing their results, candidates can go to www.waec.org to confirm, share, and download digital copies of their certificates! Copies of the Result list will be distributed to schools soon.
“I must reiterate that until debt-ridden states make their payments, the results of candidates supported by them will not be announced. We kindly request that they do so so that the impacted schools and candidates can access their results.
He claimed that thanks to technological innovation, which enabled the release of more than 91% of election results, the council was able to overcome difficulties related to insecurity and cash policy, among other things.
He noted that out of the 1,613,733 candidates who took the exam, 1,361,608 candidates (or 84.38%) received a credit or higher in at least five subjects, while 1,287,920 candidates (or 79.81%) received a credit or higher in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
“The WASSCE for School Candidates, 2023 examination period ended on June 23, 2023, and the results are being announced today, Monday, August 7, 2023, 44 days and one day short of the predetermined timeline.
“The Nigerian Council has not rested on its laurels; rather, it has rebuilt, reinvented, strengthened, and modernised its product and service delivery to all stakeholders, and it has continued to prioritise the use of technology in the majority of its operations to improve 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.
In a statement, he said, “Today, I am happy to inform you that all the processes leading to the release of the 2023 results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, for School candidates in Nigeria, have been completed.
Additionally, candidates from some schools in the Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea, where the Nigerian curriculum for Senior Secondary Schools is being used, presented themselves for the exam, along with 20,867 recognised secondary schools from the nation.
Areghan went on to say that of the total number of candidates, 794,280 were males and 819,453 were females, representing 49.22% and 50.78%, respectively.
He stated that 137,168 candidates, or 8.5%, have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some flaws, but assured them that they would receive their full results in a few days.
Meanwhile, Areghan, whose term ends this year, explained that 2023 WASSCE candidates can access their results and certificates at the same time.” “I am pleased to announce that candidates who sat for the 2023 WASSCE and have no outstanding issues can access their results, including their certificates, at the same time,” he said.