About 1.6 million candidates are expected to sit for this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) billed to start on August 16.
The Head of National Office (HNO) of West African Examination Council (WAEC), Mr. Patrick Areghan, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
Areghan said that the council was working day and night toward accommodating some schools still bothering it with late registration.
He said that the development was taking its toll on the council’s operations.
Areghan said ahead of the conduct of the 2021 WASSCE, the council was working with relevant stakeholders to ensure a hitch-free WASSCE for school candidates, in spite of some challenges.
”As I have always said, conducting the examination is not a tea party. It is a huge task and requires the collaboration of all critical stakeholders, including the media.
”It requires a lot of preparations and even more, especially in the face of the rising cases of insecurity and the resurgence of Coronavirus pandemic in the country.
”In conducting this examination, we also want to ensure that the lives of all those involved, including council’s staff, and materials are properly secure.
”Our arrangement for the successful conduct of our upcoming examination, therefore, is in top gear as we are ensuring that we do not leave any stone unturned,” he said.
Areghan noted that examination conduct required money and other resources.
He said the entire process of conducting the examination – from the printing of examination materials, distributing them, and ensuring security, to the recruitment of Adhoc staff and printing certificates – is a huge financial burden.
Areghan gave the assurance that WAEC would continue to do all it could to stay afloat.
”It is what the council has been doing, and we want to ensure we continue in that excellent tradition.”
He noted that the West African School Certificate was internationally accepted and required protection of its integrity.
