For the first time in over a decade, 52.97 per cent candidates have credits in English language, Mathematics and three other subjects in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
The feat was achieved by 878,040 candidates of the 1,544,234 who wrote the May/June 2016 SSCE.
Announcing the results yesterday, the Head of National Office (HNO), WAEC, Mr. Olutise Adenipekun, attributed the improved performance to commitment by the candidates, their teachers and the government.
He said the council did not reduce its standard for the examination.
Adenipekun said: “There were slight improvements in 2014 and 2015. We want to believe it must have been a combination of many factors. WAEC will not compromise its standard. I believe the candidates put in their best. It will not be to their credit alone, but to the credit of their teachers and the government.”
He called for the sustenance of the performance, noting: “This trend of improvement should be sustained. We are looking forward to next year for improved performance.”
Giving a breakdown of the results, Adenipekun said 158,718 candidates (9.74 per cent) have some of their results withheld because of errors at the registration stage; while 137,295 have their results withheld for examination malpractice.”
The HNO said the results withheld for errors would be released once corrected by the council, while those withheld for malpractice will only be released if the candidates are cleared by the National Examinations Committee (NEC).
“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 through their schools,” he said.
He said the results will be accessible to the candidates from today.
Adenipekun said those owing would be unable to access their results online. According to him, some of those in this category may be pupils in public schools sponsored by state governments.