A total of 2,277,588 candidates sat the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) across the West Africa sub-region in 2018. Of this number, 1,691,415 candidates (representing 74.26%) were presented by Nigeria. This was disclosed on Monday by the registrar of the council, Dr Iyi Uwadiae, on the occasion of the 67th WAEC Day celebration held in WAEC Office, Ibadan The total of 2,277,588, according to him, comprised 1,976,537 school candidates, and 301,051 private candidates. The registrar, whose speech was read by the Ibadan zonal coordinator, Mr Olatunde  Awokunle, stated:

“The council’s national examinations and aptitude/selection tests recorded an improvement in total patronage in 2018, as the total candidature rose to 3,189714, indicating an overall increase of 2.71 per cent above the 3,105,406 candidates that patronized the examinations and tests in 2017. Some member governments created new examination and assigned the conduct to the council. The council’s efforts at making inroads into neighbouring Francophone counties like Republic of Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso Guinea and Mali paid off, as more schools and candidates in those countries were attracted  to the council’s examination.”

Dr  Uwadiae, who is ending his tenure as registrar of the council this year, highlighted some of the  achievements of the council over the years. According to him,  to control examination leakage, each national office has reached  a certain stage in the establishment of  in-house printing  press for self- reliance  in printing services, especially the question papers. He attributed the success story of the council to dedicated staff, and acknowledged the input of council members at all committee levels. Speaking on the occasion, the Head of the Nigeria National Office, Mr Isaac Adenipekun, noted that the council was established with a mandate to assist in the development of sound education and to ensure that standards  are maintained.

While he commended governments in all the member countries for their patronage, he enjoined WAEC staff to embrace transparency,  accountability and zero tolerance   for corruption. The acting Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology , Mr  I. O. Adeosun, attributed the 67 years of WAEC’s existence to its sound principles. According to him, when sound principles are practised consistently over time, they become a rich tradition. He noted that committed staff of the council and stakeholders over the years had made sure that far-reaching measures are instituted to secure and protect the integrity of the council and its examinations.

This, according to him, is why WAEC occupies a place of pride among other examinations bodies in Africa.  While welcoming the guests from the education sector and other  walks of life from Kwara, Osun and Oyo State, the zonal coordinator of the council, Ibadan office, Mr Awokunle, reiterated the commitment of the council to ensuring   quality service delivery for sustainable education development in all the council’s operating counties in  Africa. He called for more team work among the staff to sustain and promote the council in its statutory functions in the education sector