WAEC pleads with stakeholders to help improve education

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Wednesday appealed to stakeholders to help improve the quality of education delivery in the sub-region.

The International Final Awards and Examiners Appointment Committee made the appeal at a two-day meeting to review chief examiners' reports for the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) conducted in the Gambia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria last year.

A statement in Accra said the reports continued to underscore the dismal trend of candidate performance in member countries, which they attributed to the inadequate preparations and poor mastery of the English language.

"The contributory factors were the inadequacy of textbooks, equipment and poor teacher motivation which were beyond the purview of the council," it said.

The statement restated the committee's decision to restrict the conduct of the Liberian Senior High School Certificate Examinations to schools in Liberia with effect from this year to the exclusion of refugee camps outside Liberia.

It expressed concern about the drastic drop in entries for technical and vocational subjects which are essential for the technical advancement sought by member countries.

The committee expressed concern about the growing incidence of conflict in the sub-region, and said civil dislocation was affecting the council's clients, especially the youth who are thrown out of school.

The committee commended the three offices in the Gambia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria for conducting the WASSCE, which is now the council's only international examination.