The West African Examination Council (WAEC) says its senior secondary certificate exam (SSCE) will soon be converted to a computer-based exam.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, the council’s head of Nigeria national office, Olu Adenipekun, said the CBT test would start with its objective questions.
“In about two weeks, we should be concluding installing all the necessary software and backups in our new CBT centre with a 600-seat capacity.
“In fact, we want other stakeholders – corporate individuals and organisations – to join hands with us in establishing CBT centres nationwide, in schools and other places, but I want to say WAEC is at the forefront for this project.”
Adenipekun said the introduction of CBT would be a gradual process to allow students to get familiar with using computers for exams.
“However, where any schools feel they have been training their students on how to apply the computers very well and therefore want us to come and administer such a test using the computers, why not? We will do it,” he explained.
“That is why I say, for us to be able to introduce the CBT test for our examinations, it will take combined efforts of all of us – schools, WAEC and other keys stakeholders.”
Providing statistics of the January/February First Series WASSCE for private candidates released, he said 12,202 candidates registered for the examination as against the 11,721 candidates that registered in 2018.
Of this figure, Adenipekun said only 3,102 candidates had credits and above in a minimum of five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
“There are 376 results, representing 3.16 per cent of the total candidature for the examination, being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice,” said the exam official,” he said.
“The cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate committee of the council in due course for consideration. The committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates.”
