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• As ICPC tasks exam bodies on malpractices
By Gabriel Dike and James Ojo, Abuja
Candidates who are not satisfied with the grade they obtained in the May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have the opportunity to request for remark of their answer scripts within 60 days through their schools.
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) on its twitter handle @waecnigeria and confirmed by the Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu, informed candidates not satisfied with their grade to apply for remark of their answer scripts within 60 days after the release of the results.
The council said such candidates would have to pay N10, 000 non refundable fee. Since the release of the May/June 2017 WASSCE last week, many candidates and some schools raised objection to grades obtained by some of their students and are demanding for the remark of one or two subjects.
In respond to the demand by a brother of a candidate requesting for remark of his sister’s answer script, the council, through its twitter handle said such request must be done within 60 days through her school and with a non refundable fee.
One Adekunle Lawal, in his twitter handle @Lawalkunle asked: “How do I call for a remark. My sister made all her subjects except Physics (D7), and she is very sure of herself.’’
And, in response, WAEC said: “Let her school apply for her. It must be received 60 days after the release of the results and there is a fee.”
In a related development, WAEC has debunked insinuations that it deliberately fail candidates in either the school or private candidates’ examinations so they can reapply to enable the council make more money.
Head of National Office, WAEC Nigeria, Mr. Olu Adenipekun, told Daily Sun, soon after announcing the release of May/June 2017 WASSCE results, that it is never the fault of the Council when candidates fail its examinations.
“It is a wrong assumption that the council deliberately fail candidates. We don’t fail candidates. The scores they obtain reflect their performance. It is what the candidates’ score that we grade.
“We don’t prepare candidates for examination; it is the responsibility of schools. WAEC only assesses them based on prescribed textbooks which they are expected to be taught in schools. Our examinations and grading of results are of international standards.
“Let me tell you that examiners and markers are not WAEC staff. The bulk of them are from the school system. The marking exercise goes through a tight process. We don’t predetermine students’ scores. We grade them according to what they have written and in line with the international marking scheme,” he said.
Adenipekun, who was elated by the improvement recorded in the May/June 2017 WASSCE, said the council hopes the candidates would maintain the tempo and not allow the 59.22 per cent who obtained five credits, including English Language and Mathematics, drop in subsequent examinations. The WAEC boss accused the social media of contributing to examination fraud and warned that the council has taken the decision to cancel all papers of candidates caught in exam malpractice, adding, “last year many fraudsters were arrested by the security agencies, some paraded and charged to court.”
He confirmed receipt of reports of supervisors, heads of schools and invigilators involved in examination malpractices during the school examination and said investigations were on-going.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, has decried lack of integrity, discipline and sincerity among students, parents, teachers and officials of examination bodies. He said examination malpractice poses a serious challenge to quality of education which constitutes a serious hazard to every sector of the country’s life.
Against this backdrop, the ICPC chairman charged all stakeholders in the education sector to imbibe the culture of integrity as a panacea to deal with examination malpractice in the nation’s institutions of learning.
He said: “Can we really speak of quality education for our children without workable integrity and competence? Do we consider this as a serious challenge, and what role do we play to enhance the quality of education that we expect and cherish for our children?
“Thus, how can we make integrity and capacity building for excellence a panacea to examination malpractice in our schools?”
