Education
WAEC retains 215,267 results due to malpractice

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has held back the results of 215,267 candidates from the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, on August 12, 2024.
This figure accounts for 11.92 percent of the 1,805,216 candidates who sat for the examination.
The 2024 WASSCE began on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, and ended on June 24, 2024.
During a press briefing in Lagos, Head of the Nigeria Office at WAEC, Dr. Amos Dangut, announced the release of the 2024 WASSCE results.
He explained that some results had been withheld due to multiple reported cases of examination malpractice.
He clarified that this figure was 4.37% points lower than the 16.29% recorded in the 2023 WASSCE for School Candidates.
Dangut emphasized that the Council would persist in penalizing all instances of examination malpractice.
He pointed out that schools, supervisors, teachers, and candidates engaged in such practices were compromising the integrity of the educational system.
Dr. Dangut also disclosed that 73.79% of candidates achieved a credit or higher in at least five subjects, regardless of whether they included English Language and/or Mathematics.
This equates to 1,332,089 candidates out of the 1,805,216 who took the exam.
He urged the candidates, saying: “As WASSCE for School Candidates, 2024 results are being uploaded on the results website…
Candidates should, after checking their results online, apply for their Digital Certificates, which will be released 48 hours thereafter.”
“Candidates who have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Council can access their results on the Council’s results website within the next 12 hours.
“Copies of the result Listing will be sent to schools shortly”, he added.
Highlights from WAEC 2024
WAEC is a significant examination body in West Africa, responsible for administering the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Established in 1952, WAEC conducts exams in English-speaking West African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Liberia.
Overview of WAEC examination
WAEC is known for two primary exams: the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the General Certificate of Education (GCE).
The SSCE is further divided into two categories: the WASSCE for school candidates (often referred to as the May/June exams) and the WASSCE for private candidates (referred to as the Nov/Dec exams).
The SSCE exams are critical as they serve as a gateway for students seeking to enter higher institutions in West Africa.
Recent developments
The 2024 WASSCE was conducted from April 30 to June 24, with over 1.8 million candidates registering for the exams from more than 25,000 secondary schools across Nigeria.
Recently, WAEC released the results of these exams on August 12, 2024.
Approximately 93.39% of exam results were processed and released, while 6.61% are still being processed.
A significant concern is that the results of 11.92% of candidates were withheld due to reported cases of examination malpractice.
This reflects a 4.37% decrease in malpractice cases compared to the previous year.
For students, WAEC has made result-checking more accessible through various platforms, including an online portal, SMS, and a mobile app.
This makes it easier for candidates to quickly access their results.
Challenges and malpractice
Despite efforts to maintain the integrity of the exams, malpractice remains a significant issue.
Withholding results for over 215,000 candidates due to malpractice underscores WAEC’s ongoing challenges in maintaining exam fairness and credibility.
However, the percentage of malpractice cases has decreased compared to previous years, showing some progress in addressing the issue.
In summary, WAEC remains crucial to West African education, though challenges such as examination malpractice continue to persist.
The recent release of the 2024 WASSCE results has elicited mixed reactions.
This is primarily due to the high percentage of results that were withheld.
However, there are signs of improvement in the efforts to reduce malpractice.
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