The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Monday announced the release of results for the 2024 April/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The examination body said a total of 1,332,089, representing 73.79 per cent, of the 1,805,216 candidates that successfully sat fpr the examination, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects.
1,301,941 candidates, representing 72.12 per cent, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
WAEC’s Head of Nigeria Office (HNO), Amos Dangut, announced the results at a press briefing, noting that the statistics for 2024 represent a decrease of 7.6 per cent in performance when compared to 2023.
Of the total 1,805,216896,894 students who sat the examination, Mr Dangut said 896,894 were males while 908,322 were females, representing 49.68 per cent and 50.32 per cent, respectively.
Mr Dangut noted that the examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, where the Nigerian curriculum for Senior Secondary Schools is being used.
He said 109,115 candidates with varying degrees of Special Needs registered for the examination. 145 were visually challenged, 473 had impaired hearing, 44 were spastic cum mentally challenged and 38 were physically challenged.
Mr Dangut further noted that the results of 215,267 candidates, representing 11.92 per cent of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, were being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.
“This is 4.37 per cent lower than the 16.29 per cent recorded in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2023,” he said.
“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organised cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues,” he added.
He noted that all the cases were being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate committee of the council for consideration and final decisions. (Premium Times)