TODAY marks another milestone in the history of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), as the entire staff and distinguished guests drawn from government, education and business circles, will converge on different locations in the five member countries of the council (Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia) to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the body, simultaneously.
It was gathered that in Nigeria, not less than 36 centres, comprising the council’s zonal, branches and satellite offices in the 36 states and Abuja, will play host to distinguished guests from the education sector for the event.
Attesting to the contribution of the council to the development of education in Nigeria, some educationists who spoke with Nigerian Tribune, described the council as a blessing to the country.
The registrar, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Mr Ayodele Fehintola, asserted that WAEC had contributed in no small measure to the development of education in Nigeria and in West Africa.
According to him, the procedure and mechanism engaged by the council in the area of examination and other related activities, over the years, gave it a good name, even at the global level.
He, however, urged the council to intensify its efforts at ensuring that results obtained by students continue to be true reflections of their abilities.
The director, Educational Advancement Centre, one of the Advanced Level Cambridge examination centres in Nigeria, Pastor Muyiwa Bamgbose, also commended the council for its ability to establish and sustain standard in education, especially in Nigeria.
He affirmed that WAEC has the experience and staffing to conduct Advanced Level examinations if government would reintroduce it into the Nigerian education system.
He, however, charged the council not to relent in its effort to ensure the development of a curriculum that would promote, in students, skills and knowledge needed for the technical advancement in the economy.
Similarly, Dr Emmanuel Adeniyi, a lecturer from the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, said that WAEC has truly been functioning as a gatekeeper to candidates seeking admission to higher institutions, and that the body has lived up to its expectation.
He appealed to the council to reduce the incidence of result cancellation by strengthening its internal control measures, as well as introducing tougher sanctions on erring candidates and institutions.
Meanwhile, the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator for the council, Mr. S. Olatunde Awokunle, has called for public support for WAEC’s ongoing efforts to curtail all forms of examination fraud.
“Let us sanitize the system together to sustain its integrity as a world class examining body,” he said.