Posted by Town crier News Nigeria
Dedeigbo Ayodeji
Dedeigbo ayodeji
Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), was on Tuesday, 27th and Wednesday, April, 28 2021 at the WAEC Testing and Training Centre (WTTC), Ogba – Lagos.
The Committee, which is the highest decision-making organ of WAEC on examination-related
matters in Nigeria, meets twice a year, to consider matters relating to the conduct of West
African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School and Private Candidates.
Its statutory Chairman is the Chief Government Nominee on Council. Membership of the
Committee comprises four representatives each, of the State Ministries of Education and the
Department of Education of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, ANCOPSS and the
Universities. It also includes the Registrar to Council, the Head of the Nigeria National Office,
Head of Test Development Division (TDD) and Head of Test Administration Division (TAD) of
the Council.
At the 71st Meeting, the Committee received a report on Irregularity, Special and Clemency
Cases arising from the conduct of WASSCE for School Candidates, 2020, earlier considered at
the 70th Meeting of the Committee. The Committee also received and considered reports on the
conduct of WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2020-Second Series and 2021-First Series, as well
as Irregularity Cases arising from the conduct of these examinations.
In the course of considering the various reported cases of malpractice, the Committee, after
diligent deliberations, approved appropriate sanctions in all established cases of malpractice, as
prescribed by the Rules and Regulations governing the conduct of the Council’s examinations. It
approved that the entire results of candidates involved in proven cases, which attracted
Cancellation of EntireResults (CER), be cancelled, while subject results of those involved in
proven cases, which attracted Cancellation of Subject Results (CSR), be similarly cancelled. In
addition, some candidates will also suffer other sanctions such as barring them from sitting for
the Council’s examinations for two years, some schools will be derecognized for a specified
number of years or have their recognition completely withdrawn, some Supervisors that we
f their examination duties will be formally reported to their
employers and blacklisted while some Invigilators will also be reported to the appropriate
authorities for disciplinary action. The decisions of the Committee will be implemented without
delay and the affected candidates and examination centres duly informed by the Council.
However, the results of candidates who were exonerated by the Committee will be released
without any further delay.
Furthermore, the Committee considered Special Cases, Clemency Cases and Restitution Cases
from WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2020-Second Series and 2021-First Series. The
Committee also received a report on the Statistics of Entries and Results for WASSCE for
School Candidates, 2020. In addition, it received and considered the General Résumé of the
Chief Examiners’ Reports on WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2020-Second Series. It equally
received, and considered reports on the Activities of the Aptitude Tests Department (ATD), for
the period October, 2020 to March, 2021 and on the Activities of the Research Department of the
Council for the period October, 2020 to March, 2021.
With regard to the General Résumé of the Chief Examiners’ Reports on WASSCE for Private
Candidates, 2020-Second Series, the Committee noted the observation by the Chief Examiners
that the standard of the papers compared favourably with those of previous years and that the
clarity and unambiguity of the questions were worthy of note as they were within the scope of
the syllabuses and ability of the candidates. They also reported that the rubrics were clear,
questions were explicit and the marking schemes were comprehensive. The Committee noted the
various shortcomings of the candidates as reported by the Chief Examiners.
The Committee received, with applause, the news that an Executive Secretary has been
appointed by the Federal Government for the National Senior Secondary School Commission and called for collaboration in the fight against examination malpractice.
In addition, the Committee, having observed the decrease in examination malpractice,
commended the Council for its efforts in fighting the menace, noting that the deployment of
technology and the cooperation of stakeholders were paying off.
The Committee also urged WAEC to make its research work on the “Factors Responsible for
Examiners’ Apathy in Reporting Malpractice Cases in WASSCE in Nigeria” available to
Examiners charged with the responsibility of marking candidates’ scripts in the Council’s
examinations.
Finally, on the Proposal of Time Limit for Candidates to Challenge NEC Decisions on
Examination Malpractice Cases, the Committee decided that:
1. all exhibits should be disposed of one (1) year after the release of results;
2. the decision to dispose of exhibits one year after the release of results should be publicized
using the Council’s website, social media, paid adverts, schools and direct contact with
candidates;
3. appeals against NEC decisions should be received from affected candidates within one (1)
year from the date of the release of results of the examination;
4. appeals against decisions taken years ago should cease after one (1) year from the approval
of this proposal;
5. all the exhibits in storage should be properly disposed of at the expiration of a period of one
(1) year from the date of the decision of this Committee if there are no pending litigations
that will require them.
Issued by the Public Affairs Department
