THE West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the 2024 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Second Series results for private candidates.
It however withheld the results of 2,577 candidates over alleged examination malpractice.
The WAEC’s acting head of public affairs, Moyosola Adesina, in a statement issued on Sunday, February 16, advised affected candidates to visit the organisation’s official portal to resolve their cases.
“Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, 62,354 candidates, representing 95.90 per cent have their results fully processed and released while 2,669 candidates, representing 4.10 per cent have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors traceable to them,” he said.
He further said that WAEC would investigate and evaluate reported cases including exhibits obtained, alongside candidates’ representations lodged on the portal and reports presented to the appropriate committee of the council for determination.
Performance analysis of the results released showed that 53.64 per cent of candidates secured five credits, including English and Mathematics, marking a 9.35 per cent improvement from the 2023 results.
The ICIR reported that in 2024, WAEC withheld over 215,000 candidates’ results over examination malpractice allegations.
Adesina said 65,023 candidates sat for the 2024 examination across 5,067 centres nationwide, noting that this represented a 20 per cent decrease compared to the previous year.
What to know about private candidates
A WAEC private candidate refers to individuals who register independently to take the WASSCE, commonly known as the General Certificate Examination (GCE) or WAEC designed for those who are not enrolled in regular secondary schools or who wish to retake the WASSCE.
The examination was conducted between October 25 and December 20, 2024. It introduced a new computer-based hybrid mode alongside the traditional paper and pen option.
Out of the 65,023 candidates that sat for the examination at 5,067 centres spread across the country, 157 candidates, with varying degrees of special needs, were registered for the examination.
The ICIR reported that WAEC announced a new initiative in January 2025, allowing students to resit their WASSCE papers quickly instead of waiting for nearly a year to resit for the examination.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.