WAEC Nigeria Adopts CBT for 2024 WASSCE Private Exams

Latest: WAEC Nigeria Adopts CBT for 2024 WASSCE Private Exams

In line with global best practices, the Nigeria National Office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) wishes to inform the general public, and all its stakeholders, that it has concluded plans to migrate its WASSCE for Private Candidates Examination Diets from Paper and Pencil Test to Computer Based Examination (CBE).

The innovation will commence with WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2024 – First Series, which is slated to hold in February 2024. While the Objective Tests will be fully Computer Based, the Essay and Test of Practical papers will be hybrid, in which the examination questions will be delivered on screen and candidates required to write answers on the answer booklets given to them.

Furthermore, the examination will be conducted in urban centres/cities and candidates with special needs have been factored into the plan. Registration for the examination will commence on Monday, December 18, 2023. In order to enable candidates to familiarise themselves with the new examination platform, arrangements have been concluded for a Mock Examination to be conducted in February 2024, before the examination commences.

To this end, the Council implores all prospective candidates to hone their computer skills and be fully prepared to embrace this innovation. As Africa’s foremost examining body, providing qualitative and reliable educational assessment, encouraging academic and moral excellence, it is the vision of the Council that in the near future, all its examinations will be delivered via the computer.

Earlier: WAEC Concluding Plans to Implement CBT Usage for Exams

According to media reports, the Head of National Office (HNO) of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Mr Olu Adenipekun has disclosed that plans are on ground to introduce its examination on CBT platform. He said that the CBT test would start with its objective questions, noting that the council was already concluding establishment of its CBT Centre at Ogba in Ikeja.

He stated that in two weeks, the council would have concluded the installation of all necessary software and backups in the new CBT centre which he said has 600-seat capacity.

He added that the centre will be a world-class centre and will be used for all related CBT activities OF THE council including marking of scripts or related purposes.

He called on  stakeholders – corporate individuals and organisations – to join hands with the council in establishing CBT centres nationwide, in schools and other places.

He however said that the introduction of CBT, starting with the objective questions, would be a gradual thing since it would not be easy to ask students who might not have been exposed to computers while in school to just come and take the examination with computers.

“Where any schools feel they have been training their students on how to apply the computers very well and therefore want us to come and administer such a test using the computers, why not? We will do it. “That is why I say, for us to be able to introduce the CBT test for our examinations, it will take combined efforts of all of us – schools, WAEC and other keys stakeholders,’’ he explained.