FOLASHADE SHIYANBOLA
THE West African Examination Council, WAEC, Nigeria, has announced the release of the West African Senior School Certificate, 2020 results.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the Head of the National Office of WAEC, Nigeria, Patrick Areghan, said a total of One Million Five Hundred and Forty-Nine Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty (1,549,740) candidates registered for the examination from Nineteen Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty-Nine (19,129) recognised secondary schools in Nigeria.
He said of the number that registered for the examination, One Million Five Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-Five (1,538,445) candidates sat for the examination.
“The examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea where the Nigeria curriculum for Senior Secondary School is being used,” he said.
He added that the examination was also conducted in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, the first time since the abduction of over 200 school girls in the area by insurgents, six years ago.
“I also wish to report that a total of Four Thousand Two Hundred and Eighty (4,280) candidates with varying degrees of Special Needs were registered for the examination. Of the total number of One Million, Five Hundred and Thirty Eighty Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-Five (1,538,445) candidates that sat for the examination, Seven Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Six Hundred and Sixty (780,660) were males while Seven Hundred and Fifty-Seven Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighty-Five (757,785) were females, representing 50.74 per cebt and 49.26 per cent, respectively,” he said.
Areghan explained that out of the total number of candidates that sat for the examination, One Million, Four Hundred and Fifty-Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty-Seven (1,456,727) candidates, representing 94.69 per cent, had their results fully processed and released while Eighty-One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighteen (81,718) candidates, representing 5.31 per cent, had a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors on the part of the candidates.
He, however, said One Million, Three Thousand, Six Hundred and Sixty Eight (1,003,668) candidates, representing 65.24 per cent, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, which showed a marginal 1.06 per cent improvement in performance as against the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2019.
Those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 64.18 per cent of the total.
“Of this number, Four Hundred and Ninety-Seven Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty-Nine (497,139), that is 49.53 per cent, were male candidates, while Five Hundred and Six Thousand, Five Hundred and Twenty-Nine (506,529) or 50.47 per cent were female candidates,” WAEC added.
Thanking Government at all levels and stakeholders, the HNO said the examination itself was a study in God’s divine intervention at a time the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic was hanging dangerously in the air.
He said WAEC, with the collaboration of the various levels of government and other stakeholders, safely and successfully conducted the examination without any of the candidates contracting the virus in the examination hall or dropping dead.
“We are equally happy to inform you that during the conduct of the examination, there was no reported case of any invigilator, supervisor, WAEC staff or any examination functionary for that matter, being infected with the virus as all the COVID-19 protocols were meticulously observed,” he noted.
