The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has given further insight into how the planned migration of its West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates from the ‘Paper Pencil Test’ to the Computer Based Test (CBT) mode will work.
WAEC had recently announced that it will migrate the examination to the CBT mode in February 2024.
Speaking at the the council’s 61st annual meeting of the the Nigeria National Committee, NNC of WAEC, in Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State on Thursday, Dr Amos Josiah Dangut, Head of National Office (HNO) noted that the plan to migrate the WASSCE to the CBT) mode was in line with global best practices.
He added that the innovation will commence with WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2024, First Series, which is slated to be held in February.
On how the CBT will work, he said, “While the objective tests will be fully computer-based, the essay and Test of Practical papers, will be hybrid, in which the examination questions will be delivered on screen.
“Accordingly, candidates will be required to write answers on the answer booklets given to them.
The HNO reassured of the council’s commitment to continue to deliver its mandate of being Africa’s foremost examination body, adding value to the educational goals of its stakeholders,
In her opening remarks, the Chairman of the NNC, Hajia Binta Abdulkadir said the council had grown in leaps and bounds over the 71 years of its existence, with ground breaking achievements.
According to her, being a technologically driven examining body, it has continued to evolve in this regard, as it ensures that its services are easily accessible to all.
“The WAEC Request Management Portal and CHATBOT is one of the innovations that the Council has put in place.
It is a real-time online self-service portal that has drastically reduced the physical presence of candidates and the general public at the council’s offices in Nigeria.
“The system allows candidates and the general public to interact with WAEC from the comfort of their homes and access its services without compromising safety measures, among other achievements,” she said.
The chairman said that through combined and dogged efforts of all the stakeholders, the council in Nigeria had been able to regularise and stabilise the conduct of WASSCE for School Candidates in its normal examination season of May/June successfully.
She noted that WAEC had further strengthened its efforts aimed at combating examination malpractice by synergising with various security agencies.
According to her, these agencies have been assisting with their logistics and intelligence, which has continually led to the arrest of some erring supervisors, invigilators, teachers and students.
-PMNews
