The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has commended the Rivers State Government in its pragmatic steps towards the eradication of examination mal-practices in public examinations in the state.

WAEC in its 48th Annual Nigeria National Committee meeting in Kaduna recently noted with satisfaction the effort of the state governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, through the Education Ministry to reduce the rate of examination malpractices in the state.

Arguing that it was on record that the number of candidates who registered for WAEC, SSEC in the state dropped from 81,612 in 2009/2010 to just 43,757 and attributed the excess to over registration with the intention of indulging in examination malpractice.

In 2008, according to WAEC, the number of registered candidates was 97,316 as against 81,612 in 2009, while in 2010, this figure further dropped to 43,757.

The council explained that the effort of the state government in tackling exam malpractices was yielding positive results, and advised the state Commissioner for Education, Dame Alice Lawrence Nemi never to be deterred by the activities of kingpins of examination malpractices. It noted that the elimination of external candidates in the last examination by the state Ministry of Education was a step in the right direction.

Commenting on office accommodation provided by the state government to WAEC in the state, the National Council expressed appreciation to the Governor for approving a befitting alternative office accommodation to WAEC in Port Harcourt.

Responding, the state Commissioner for Education, Dame Alice Lawrence Nemi expressed the appreciation of the state government to WAEC’s National Council for appreciating the humble efforts of Governor Amaechi in eradicating examination malpractices in the state, insisting that the present administration had zero tolerance for examination mal-practice.

The Commissioner who was represented by the Director of Secondary Education, Mrs Stella Wigwe advised candidates, principals, supervisors and invigilators to have a re-think in indulging in the social vice, as the state ministry of education would consistently introduce measures that would curtail the menace to the barest minimum. She also advised candidates to imbibe the culture of hardwork and self discipline in their academic pursuits.

Meanwhile, only 20.04 per cent or 62,295 candidates obtained credit pass in English, Mathematics and three other subjects in the Nov./Dec. 2010 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The Head of the Nigerian National Office of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Dr Iyi Uwadiae during a press conference yesterday in Lagos said the result was not impressive.

He said 310, 077 candidates sat for the examination while the results of 51,876 of them, representing 16.73 per cent, were withheld for involvement in examination malpractices.

“A total of 133,507 candidates (43.06 per cent) obtained credit and above in English Language, while 151,569 candidates (48.88 per cent) obtained credit and above in Mathematics,” he said.

Uwadiae told journalists that 33 blind candidates took the examination and only 4 of them got credit passes in five subjects including English Language.

Blind candidates, however, are exempted by regulation from registering for Mathematics and science-based subjects.

“All the reports on cases of involvement in examination malpractice have been compiled for presentation to the Nigerian Examination Committee of the Council in March,” he said.

Uwadiae said that the result was released two weeks ahead of schedule to enable students who had secured admissions in higher institutions to register.

He said WAEC would soon modernise its examination model to the e-testing format (electronic test) but noted that the process was at its experimental stage.

“The quick release of the result is due to the commitment of the markers and the effective application of our new computer software for processing results,” he said.