WAEC

WAEC examination

 

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is an examination board established by law to determine the examinations required in the public interest in the English-speaking West African countries, to conduct the
examinations and to award certificates comparable to those of equivalent examining authorities internationally.

Established in 1952, the council has contributed to education in Anglophonic countries of West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria,Sierra Leone,Liberia, and the Gambia),with the number of examinations they have coordinated, and certificates they have issued. They also formed an endowment fund, to contribute to the education in West Africa, through lectures,and aid to those who cannot afford education.

In a year, over three million candidates registered for the exams coordinated by WAEC. The council also helps other examination bodies (both local and international) in coordinating Examinations.

The council conducts four different categories of examinations such as:

  • International Examinations
  • National Examinations
  • Examinations conducted in collaboration with other examining bodies
  • Examinations conducted on behalf of other examining bodies

 

International exams are taken in the five countries with the WAEC ordinance, consisting ofWASSCE (West African Senior School Certificate Examination):

  • WASSCE FOR PRIVATE CANDIDATES (FIRST SERIES) JANUARY–FEBRUARY
  • WASSCE FOR (SCHOOL CANDIDATES) MARCH – MAY
  • WASSCE FOR PRIVATE CANDIDATES (MAIN GCE) SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER

The National examinations are taken in individual countries such as:

  • Junior Secondary School Certificate for Nigeria and the Gambia,
  • Junior and Senior High School Certificate Examinations for Liberia,
  • National Primary School and Basic Education Certificate Examinations for
  • Sierra Leone, Basic Education Certificate Examinations for Ghana, and
  • Senior School Certificate Examinations for Ghana.

The council also coordinates examinations in collaboration with some trustworthy examination bodies such as:

  • City and Guilds of London Institute
  • Royal Society of Arts
  • WAEC Research Institute

The council also conducts examination in West Africa on behalf of international examination bodies such as:

  • University of London GCE
  • Scholastic Aptitude Test and Graduate
  • Record Examinations for Educational Testing Service, Princeton, USA, and
  • JAMB (Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board) examination in countries outside Nigeria.

The council issues credible and reliable certificates to candidates that participate in the Examinations. And the standard of this certificates matches with that of the United Kingdom. This is because the WAEC Ordinance empowered the council to conduct Examinations and award certificates, provided the certificates don’t have a lower standard compared to their equivalent certificates of examining authorities in the United Kingdom.