Students from Ghana emerged as the top three candidates with the best results in the 2024 May\June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The exam was conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for all the final year secondary school students across its five-member countries, namely: Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Nigeria.
A total of 2,455, 063 students participated in the exam with Nigeria alone presenting 1,805,216 (representing 73.53 percent) out of the entire candidates.
This year’s edition of the school-based exam will commence on April 24th with Nigeria to present about three quarters of the entire candidates from the sub-region.
Interestingly, all the three Ghanaian students with best results are boys just like that of the 2023 edition, who are also from Ghana. They all earned very high ‘AI’ grades in all their subjects in the exam.
They are David Nii Commey Ankrah (Ist prize), Henschel Tabi Frempong-Manso (2nd prize), and Benedict Ofori Debrah (3rd prize).
The trio were unveiled at the just concluded 73rd Annual General Meeting of the council held in Monrovia, Liberia and were rewarded with the WAEC International Excellence Award for their exceptional performance in the exam.
While David, who also won the Augustus Bandele Oyediran Award for the best candidate in the exam in West Africa went home with $3,000 and certificate of excellence for winning both awards, Henschel and Benedict received $1,200 and $900, respectively plus certificate of excellence.
Aside the students, the council also conferred a Distinguished Friend of Council Award on a high-profile Liberian woman, Mrs. Hawah Sharon Goll-Kotchi for her outstanding contributions to the organisation.
All the three students’ award recipients are now undergraduates. The overall best, 18-year-old David, with a T-Score of 605.0474, is studying Pharmacy at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, while the second and third prize winners are both in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology studying Engineering and Human Biology, respectively.
The head of Public Affairs of WAEC International, Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu, made this disclosure in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, Nigeria.
He stated that WAEC International celebrates and rewards candidates with the exceptional performance in its school-based exams across its five member-countries on yearly basis to promote hardwork, resilience and healthy competition among students in the sub-region.
Ojijeogu disclosed that WAEC during the meeting elected the Liberia’s Chief Government Nominee, Amos Armah Fully, as the Vice Chairman of the council for one-year tenure, succeeding Mr. Edward Kpakra from Sierra Leone.
Furthermore, the Liberia’s President, Joseph Nyumah Boakai declared the meeting open.
In his keynote address, the president congratulated WAEC on its strong contributions to the education development of the sub-region.
According to him, WAEC has been very committed since inception to the conduct of credible exams and issuing of globally recognised certificates.
He also acknowledged the organization in the promotion of transparency, accountability, and fairness in the assessment of academic achievements of students in the sub-region
The president however urged the organization to improve on its exam inclusiveness policy by designing a better environment that will be easily accessible to students with special needs.
“This is important,” he explained, “to create equal opportunities for all students to acquire knowledge and skills and also earn academic certificates they desire.”
WAEC’s Council, which serves as governing board of the organization holds general meeting involving delegates from across the five-member countries on yearly and rational basis.
The last year’s edition was held in Sierra Leone while Ghana will play host to the 2026 edition.
Ojijeogu added that the President of Cuttington University, Liberia, Dr. Romelle Alexzyn Horton, delivered this year’s annual endowment fund lecture at the event, speaking on the topic, “Digital Transformation in Education: To AI or Not to AI.”
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