The West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) has revealed a date for the commencement of the 2023 school-based West African Senior School Certification Examination (WASSCE), the exams are slated to kick off on 8th May and run through till 23rd June 2023. This was made known by the Head of WAEC National Office, Patrick Areghan at the pre-examination press briefing held in Lagos state on 4th May 2023. Addressing the level of insecurity in the nation was to be considered, adding that some areas require extra security arrangements.
“We are liaising with the Inspector General of Police, Brigade Commanders, other security agencies, and state governments. “This is to ensure the examination is conducted in a safe environment. We’ve also sought the intervention of the Minister of Education,” he said.
WAEC zonal and branch offices have likewise reached out to security outfits in their locations for assistance, Areghan hinted.
A total of 1,621,853 candidates from 20,851 secondary schools across Nigeria registered for the examination. The breakdown shows 798,810 are male, representing 49.25 per cent, while 823,043 are female, representing 50.75 per cent.
He noted that the candidates would be examined in 76 subjects, made up of 197 papers, adding that about 30,000 senior secondary school teachers, nominated by the various states’ education ministries, would be participating in the examination as supervisors.
Mr. Areghan said the results of candidates sitting the examination will be released 45 days after the conduct of the last paper, while the certificates will be printed and issued to schools in less than 90 days after the release of results.
The new development is coming as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is rounding off the 2023 edition of its entrance examinations into tertiary institutions. JAMB conducts the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for admission seekers nationwide, and this year’s examination which was scheduled to hold between 25 April and 2 May has been extended to Saturday 6 May for candidates who missed the examination for genuine reasons.