WAEC to hold summit on exam malpractices

WEST African Examinations Council (WAEC) said it had concluded plans to host international summit on malpractices in the sub-region.

The registrar of the council, Dr Iyi Uwadiae, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, noted that intense competition for access to education leads to widespread cheating in examinations.

He said, “The board of WAEC has been troubled by the rising scourge of examination malpractice and it is set to organise an international summit to address it.

“The summit will take place in Lagos between October 19 and October 20 to provide platform for stakeholders to come together and share experiences to enable us to arrive at a workable solution to this endemic situation in the sub-region.”

Uwadiae explained that WAEC, being a five-member country organisation, is expecting representatives of governments of the respective member countries.

“We are also going to involve people from the academia such as teachers who are our main stakeholders and others,” he added.

The WAEC registrar, who noted that the summit would be an annual event, expressed satisfaction with the performance of Nigerian candidates in Mathematics at the 2017 May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

He said, “Efforts should be made to sustain the development. I must say that this year’s performance in Mathematics in the country is the best compared with results in recent past.

“I want to attribute it to more commitment on the side of both the teachers and students. I think teaching is becoming more effective and students are improving in their learning. My prayer is to ensure that this trend is sustained and improved upon.”