By Gabriel Dike
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) yesterday honoured three students for their outstanding performances in the May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) with 9As and 8As respectively.
The award was presented to the three students at the 62nd Annual meeting of the Nigeria National Committee (NNC) of WAEC held at National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna State.
Eighteen-year-old Whiskey Orevaoghene of Topfaith International Secondary School, Mkpatak, Akwa Ibom, emerged the best overall student with 9As in the May/June 2023 WASSCE with a total score of 628.3248.
In the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Orevaoghene scored 340 and she is currently studying Medicine and Surgery at the University of Port Harcourt.
The second prize winner went to 17-year-old Okafor Chima Christian of St Paul’s Academy, Jos, Plateau State with 8As and a total score of 605.4081. He is studying Medicine and Surgery at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.
Seventeen-year-old Alinnor Ifunanya Jessica of Loyola Jesuit College, Wuse, Abuja placed third with 8As and a total score of 601.9246.
Alinnor obtained 345 in the 2024 UTME and she is currently studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Tennessee University on a merit scholarship.
The council also honoured two students in the visually impaired category award, male and female with best overall result in the 2023 school exam.
For the male category, the award went to 19-year-old Opu Sylvester Iforulimre of Demonstration Secondary School, Federal College of Education, Obudu, Cross River State with 2As, 3Bs and 2Cs.
In the female category, 18-year-old Banjo Fiyinfoluwa Emmanuella of Starfield College, Fagba, Lagos, obtained 4As, 2Bs and 1C.
In his speech, WAEC Head of National Office (HNO), Dr. Amos Dangut, said the NNC is the highest policy organ of the council and ensures policies are formulated and executed in Nigeria.
Dangut described WAEC as the foremost examination body in Africa and assured stakeholders that it would continue to deliver on its mandate.
The chairman of NNC, Hajia Binta Abdulkadir, said the council has introduced numerous measures to ensure the smooth conduct of its exams.
Declaring the NNC meeting open, the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, said the decision to give the hosting right to the state aligns with the importance his administration placed on education, which reflects in the allocation of 24 percent to the sector.
Sani, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, expressed concern about exam malpractice and urged the council to tackle the menace.
“I urge the committee and WAEC management to continue devising effective strategies to eliminate this challenge. On our part, we remain committed to improving the learning environment in our schools and encouraging greater parental involvement in their children’s education so that our young ones can be properly guided,” Governor Sani stated.
The governor described WAEC as the cornerstone of educational excellence across the West African region, which fosters collaboration among member-nations and setting high standards for academic achievements.