WAEC celebrates 65th anniversary in five-member countries today

TODAY marks another milestone in the history of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), as the entire staff and distinguished guests drawn from government, education and business circles, will converge on different locations in the five member countries of the council (Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia) to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the body, simultaneously.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that in Nigeria, not less than 36 centres, comprising the council’s  zonal, branches and  satellite offices in the 36 states and Abuja, will play host to distinguished guests from the education sector  for the event.

Attesting to the contribution of the council to the development of education in Nigeria, some educationists who spoke with Nigerian Tribune, described the council as a blessing to the country.

The registrar, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Mr Ayodele Fehintola, asserted that WAEC had contributed in no small measure to the development of education in Nigeria and in West Africa.

According to him, the procedure and mechanism engaged by the council in the area of examination and other related activities, over the years, gave it a good name, even at the global level.

He, however, urged the council to intensify  its efforts at ensuring that results obtained  by students continue to be  true reflections of their abilities.

The director, Educational Advancement Centre, one of the Advanced  Level Cambridge  examination centres in Nigeria, Pastor Muyiwa Bamgbose, also commended the  council for its ability to establish  and sustain standard in education, especially  in Nigeria.

He affirmed that WAEC has the experience and  staffing to conduct Advanced Level examinations  if  government would  reintroduce it into the Nigerian education system.

He, however, charged the council not to  relent in its effort to ensure the development of a curriculum  that would promote, in students, skills and knowledge needed for the   technical advancement in the economy.

Similarly, Dr  Emmanuel  Adeniyi, a lecturer from  the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, said that WAEC has truly been functioning  as a gatekeeper to  candidates seeking admission to higher institutions, and that the body has lived up to its  expectation.

He appealed to the council to reduce the incidence of result cancellation by strengthening its internal control measures, as well as introducing tougher sanctions on erring candidates and institutions.

Meanwhile, the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator for the council, Mr. S. Olatunde Awokunle, has called for public support for WAEC’s  ongoing efforts to curtail all forms of examination fraud.

“Let us sanitize the system together to sustain its integrity as  a world class examining body,” he said.