WAEC withholds results of over 130,000 candidates from states owing them millions of Naira, others

The West African Examinations Council, WAEC, has withheld results of students from eight states of the federation that sat for the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, over the indebtedness of the states to the Council.

The Head of National Office, Mr Patrick Areghan, disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos on Monday, August 7.

Giving a further breakdown of the results, Mr Areghan noted that a total of 1,621,884 candidates registered for the examination from 20,867 recognised secondary schools in the country. He said that, of the registered candidates, 1,613,733 sat the examination.

On the categories of the results, he said that out of the number of candidates that sat the examination, a total of 1,476,565, representing 91.5 per cent had their results fully processed and released.

Mr Areghan noted that 137,168 others, representing 8.5 per cent, had a few of their subjects still being processed due to some shortcomings, ranging from nonchallance, lethargy, incomplete CASS upload, disobedience of rubrics, and others associated with the schools and candidates concerned.

While stressing that the results of candidates sponsored by states indebted to the Council will not be released until they pay up, the HNO listed Zamfara and Niger as the highest debtors. He, however, refuses to mention the remaining states.

While Areghan also did not give the amount the states owe individually and collectively, it was gathered that it runs into hundreds of millions of naira.

“I am happy to announce that candidates who sat for the 2023 WASSCE and have no pending issue can access their results, including their certificates simultaneously.

I need to restate that the results of candidates sponsored by states indebted to the Council will not be released now until they pay up. We appeal to them to do so to enable the affected schools/candidates to access their results.

Zamfara and Niger states are the highest debtors. Again Zamfara did not present any candidate for this year’s WASSCE,” he said.