The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced that 39.82 per cent made credits in five subjects, including Mathematics and English, in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates 2020 (second series).

The Head of National Office, Mr. Patrick Areghan also announced the opening of registration for the 2021 WASSCE for school candidates three months behind schedule.

Announcing the release of the WASSCE for private candidates 2020, Areghan said the result was an improvement in performance in the examination in the last two years.

“Twenty Four Thousand Four Hundred and Ninety One (24,491) candidates representing 39.82 per cent obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

“Out of this number, 12,040, that is, 49.16 per cent were male candidates, while 12,451, that is, 50.84 per cent were female candidates.

“The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for private candidates in 2018 and 2019; that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, were 35.99 per cent and 35.10 per cent respectively. Thus, there is a marginal increase of 4.72 per cent in performance in this regard,” he said.

Areghan however warned that the performance should not be the basis of judging how well candidates did in the examination as it is considered a remedial one for candidates seeking to make certain subjects.

Of the 61,509 candidates who took the examination, 5,548 (9.02 per cent) have their withheld because of alleged involvement in examination malpractice.

He also explained that the 66,375 candidates registered for the examination represented a 31.63 per cent in decline for enrolment in the examination, which he said was due to COVID-19.

Speaking on why the registration for the 2021 WASSCE for school candidates just opened, Areghan attributed the delay to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We normally close earlier than now but because of the challenges in the education system, a lot of disruption has taken place. Some schools are still running third term. They do not have any SS3. So because of this we had to take time to allow things to stabilise a bit. Today we are going to roll out materials; schools will collect. They will enroll candidates. And the date of the examination would announced later,” he said.