WAEC Releases Private WASSCE Results, Stays Mute On May/June Exams

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Tuesday announced the release of results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates.

However, the examination body said it was unsure of when the WASSCE for school candidates, usually held in May/June would hold this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still very much felt in the education sector,” head of the Nigeria national office of WAEC, Patrick Areghan, said at a press briefing in Lagos. “The academic calendar has been distorted.

“It will, therefore, not be possible to have the examination in May/June this year.  A convenient International Timetable for the conduct of the examination will soon be released.  All stakeholders are requested to keep their fingers crossed until they hear from WAEC.”

The private candidate examinations, usually scheduled for November, were held between February and March 2021 “under strict COVID-19 protocols.”

According to WAEC, “there was no reported case of any invigilator, supervisor, WAEC staff or any examination functionary, for that matter, being infected with the dreaded Coronavirus disease.”

A total of 7,690 candidates entered for the examination, representing a 38% decline when compared with the 2020 figure.

However, only 2,195 candidates, representing 30.11% obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

“The number of candidates that had five credits, including English Language and Mathematics may not necessarily be a basis for judging the level of performance in this examination,” Mr Areghan said.

“This is because the examination is more or less a remedial one. Some candidates may just need only one or two papers, other than English Language and /or Mathematics to remedy their admission deficiencies.”

Candidates who sat the examination are now free to check the details of their performance on the Council’s results website: www.waecdirect.org.

The Result Checker PIN and Serial Number needed by candidates to check their results online are contained on the candidate’s Smart Identity Card used during the conduct of the examination.

The private candidate examination is “primarily designed to help candidates seeking admission to tertiary institutions to reduce the waiting time for results and beat admission deadlines.”