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• Beat 2.2m students to emerge bests in WASSCE
By Dike Gabriel
Three whiz kids stood tall recently at the award ceremony of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in Banjul, The Gambia. They were among the 2.2 million students who wrote the May/June 2022 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The three were honoured for their outstanding performance in the examination. They included two Ghanaians, Alex Opoku Manu and Benjamin Eyram Nana Kwame Degbey, as well as Obidigbo Chioma Blessing from Nigeria. The trio received International Excellence awards for their performance and were showered with cash, trophies and certificates.
The overall best WASSCE student went to 18-year-old Manu, formerly of St James Seminary SHS, Ghana. He is currently at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He had a T-score of 622.2252.
He obtained distinctions in Social Studies A1, English Language A1, General Mathematics A1, Integrated Science A1, Further Mathematics A1, Biology A1, Chemistry A1 and Physics A1.
Manu said: “My ambition is to become a specialist in the medical field. My dream is not restricted to only the health field. My passion is to pursue an MBA and a degree in Law.”
Head of St. James Seminary said Manu caught his attention when he assumed office as rector in 2021: “His impressive academic strength was just astonishing as this was exhibited in all academic exercises he undertook.
“His extraordinary mental capacity was expressed in his contributions to class work, exercises, assignments and other academic works. Manu would challenge academic discourse but would not cause an affront to constituted authority.
“His unparalleled passion for becoming a specialist in medicine, a successful businessman and an astute lawyer are hurdles he can achieve easily with his level of commitment and zeal.”
The second overall best went to 18-year-old Degbey, formerly of St. James Seminary. He also obtained distinctions in Social Studies A1, English Language A1, General Mathematics A1, Integrated Science A1, Further Mathematics A1, Biology A1, Chemistry A1, and Physics A1.
He had a T-score of 621.5573.
A student at Academic City University College, he said: “My ambition is to be an engineer that can build anything from the estate to microcontrollers from scratch.”
His school head said: “Degbey possesses extraordinary prowess academically, demonstrates an unwavering potential in every facet with regard to learning, thus makes him an astute student per excellence.
“The future is promising for him. This is due to how dexterously he has positioned himself to embrace opportunities that lie ahead.”
Seventeen-year-old Obidigbo, former student, St. Paul’s Academy, Jos, Plateau State, emerged third-best candidate. She had a T-score of 618,3579.
Her report sheet: Marketing A1, English Language A1, General Mathematics A1, Biology A1, Chemistry A1, Physics A1, Civic Education A1 and Agricultural Science A1. She intends to study Medicine and Surgery.
Registrar to council, Mr. Pateh Bah, said Manu, in addition, would receive “the Augustus Bandele Oyediran Award for Best Candidate in West Africa. The three winners were selected from 2,276,112 candidates who sat WASSCE for school candidates in 2022 in The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
“About 2,440,770 candidates took the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. The total entry figure comprised 2,297,905 school candidates and 142,865 private candidates.
“The 2022 entry figure reflected an increase of 61,390 (or 2.58 per cent) over the 2021 figure of 2,379,380. It also showed a rise of 176,063 (or 7.77 per cent) compared to the 2020 candidature of 2,264,707.
“A country-by-country analysis of the total candidature showed that The Gambia registered 21,273 candidates (or 0.87 per cent) made up of 15,361 school candidates and 5,912 private candidates. Ghana had 465,441 candidates (or 19.07 per cent) consisting of 422,883 school candidates and 42,558 private candidates. Liberia presented 48,990 candidates (or 2.01 per cent), among them 44,807 school candidates and 4,183 private candidates.
“Nigeria enrolled 1,693,684 candidates (or 69.40 per cent) including 1,607,982 school candidates and 85,702 private candidates. Sierra Leone got 211,382 candidates (or 8.66 per cent) comprising 206,874 school candidates and 4,508 private candidates.
“The council’s main national examinations were conducted 1,044,884 candidates. Out of this, The Gambia presented 104,905 candidates (or 10.03 per cent), Ghana 553,973 (or 53.01 per cent), Liberia 94,581 (or 9.05 per cent) and Sierra Leone 291,425 (or 27.89 per cent). The council does not conduct national examinations in Nigeria.
“The overall patronage for the council’s international and national examinations and aptitude tests decreased by 14,169 or 0.40 per cent in 2022. The candidature dropped to 3,510,894 from 3,525,063 recorded in 2021.
“Despite obstacles, the council was able to work in synergy with the governments of its member nations to serve the existing examination diets and satisfy the aspirations of stakeholders across the sub-region.
“The council gave a good account of itself by delivering creditably on its mandate of determining the examinations required in the public interest in the English-speaking West African countries, conduct the examinations and award certificates comparable to those of equivalent examining authorities globally.”
