WAEC goes tough, says no room for exam malpractice
By Seth Akande
The Head of National office for West African Examination Council (WAEC), Mr Patrick E. Areghan (FCGP), has said there will be no room for malpractice during the forthcoming examination.
Nigerian NewsDirect reports that the WAEC is scheduled to hold from May 16th to June 23rd, 2022.
Addressing a press briefing, on Monday, at the WAEC National office, Yaba, Areghan said the scheduled examinations for the year 2022 will be different from the previous examinations held in the country.
He stated that over one million and six hundred students registered for the year’s examination, adding that everything needed to make the examinations successful has been provided to the over twenty thousand schools that registered for the examination.
As part the institution’s zero tolerance for malpractice, Patrick sent stern warnings to miracles centres and rogue website operators that engage in such activities.
He condemned such heinous acts, stating that such places will be fished out and parents or students who do not desist from patronising them are likely to bear the risk when caught.
In his words, “The various Ministries of Education should call their principals, teachers and other officials serving as inspectors, to order Every candidate and examination functionary must play by the rules which are well stipulated in the WAEC Syllabus and Guidelines for the conduct of examinations issued to schools. Erring schools will be derecognized; erring officials would be adequately punished while erring candidates would lose their results, no matter whose ox is gored.
“I want to specifically warn supervisors to desist from aiding and abetting examination malpractice by assisting candidates, one way or the other, especially by allowing them to enter the Examination Hall with their cell phones and make use of same. This is shameful and indecorous. We shall fish them out and deal with them. All hands must be on deck to sanitize the education sector.
“Meanwhile, we shall, as usual work hand-in-hand with the Nigeria Police to bring perpetrators to book. There will be no hiding place for them. Perpetrators will surely face the full wrath of the law,” he added.
Speaking on the improvements and permanent solutions needed to help improve the overall performance of examination in the country, he mentioned that digital certificates will be accessible to candidates who successfully sit for the examination, which they can always have saved or refer back to incase the hard copy proves difficult to get during needy times for candidates.
He also mentioned that WAEC Verify provides an online access for institutions to verify students or applicants while WAEC Chatbox allows the general public to have real time conversations on the WAEC website.
Areghan urged institutions to provide a safe environment for the success of the examination as equally on its part it will be flying WAEC staffs to schools as safety is paramount.
He noted that in full preparation for the coming WAEC examination, the institution is working hand in hand with stakeholders including the ministry of Education, Governors, the Nigeria Police force, security agencies and many more to ensure that a credible examination is delivered to the Nigerian Child and the general public.
