The first series of WASSCE for Private Candidates beginning with 2018 has been unveiled by West African Examination Council in Lagos.
Registration for the examinations closes December this year.
According to WAEC, the first series of the WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2018 will be an urban based examination and candidates will be examined in 19 subjects.
Later, intending candidates for the examination are to visit the Council’s corporate website –www.waecnigeria.org– to confirm available examination towns and subjects before obtaining the registration PIN, he said.
Speaking during the unveiling Tuesday at WAEC office, in Lagos, Mr Olu Adenipekun, Head of National Office, said, “The examination for the 2018 series has been fixed between January and February in 2018.”
Adenipekun explained that the purpose of this initiative was not to duplicate examination, but to ensure that candidates with difficulty in any subject would not necessarily need to wait for another six months before getting all his required subjects for tertiary admission.
He said: ”The conduct of an additional diet of the WASSCE for Private Candidates became necessary because the WASSCE for school candidates is written first every year and the results are released before the conduct of the WASSCE for private candidates.
”Therefore, School Candidates who wish to retake the examination usually have the opportunity of doing so with the Private Candidates examination.
”But with growing concern among Stakeholders over what they perceive as discrimination or denial of equal opportunity against Private Candidates, there has been a deluge of agitation, criticism and appeal across the West African Sub-region for Council to find a way of reducing the agony of long waiting experienced by the Private Candidates who desire another shot at WASSCE.
”This situation is often cited as being responsible for the level of desperation often times displayed by the perpetrators of examination malpractice at the Private Candidates examination centres.
”The Council has also observed with chagrin the penchant by external candidates to register for the WASSCE for School Candidates which has led to an astronomical increase in examination cheats being caught during the conduct of the examination.”
The HNO who noted that flagging off of the diet started with Nigeria, adding that the remaining member countries of WAEC have indicated their readiness to follow suit.
Adenipekun, however, noted that the online registration for the WASSCE for private candidates 2018-first series commences from October 9, 2017 to December 29, same year.
According to him, the First Series of the WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2018 will be an urban based examination and candidates will be examined in 19 subjects. ”Intending candidates for the examination are, therefore, strongly advised to visit the Council’s corporate website –www.waecnigeria.org– to confirm available examination towns and subjects before obtaining the registration PIN, he said.
