The West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) Management has announced the change in the mode of conduct of the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) from the pencil and paper test to the Computer Based Test format.
This announcement, which added that the exercise is to begin in February 2024, was released in a statement signed by the acting head of the council’s public affairs unit, Mrs. Moyosola Adesina, in Lagos.
The statement further added that this innovation would commence for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates in February 2024.
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The examination body added that this development is in line with global best practices, and all plans have been concluded to ensure the successful migration of its exams for private candidates from the pencil and paper test to Computer Based Examination (CBE).
Before the CBT mode announcement
The examination body, since its establishment over 70 years ago, has adopted the pencil and paper test mode for the conduct of its examinations until this announcement.
It would be recalled that unlike the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which over the past 5 years has used the Computer Based Test in the conduct of its examination, the West African Examination Council has stated the complexity of the conduct of its examination, especially the practicals involved, as part of the impediments of this decision.
In the words of the former head of the West African Examination Council, Nigeria National Office, who recently retired, Mr. Patrick Areghan, the examinations conducted by WAEC are not to be described as “ranking examinations”.
While describing the examinations conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as ranking examinations that only test students on their performance to gain admission, they added that the West African Senior School Certificate Examination evaluates and assesses students on the knowledge they have gathered throughout their six years of secondary education.
This is done through practicals and demonstrations such as drawing, cooking, identification, etc.
The new WAEC CBT model
The West African Examination Council said all preparations have been made to pioneer the adoption of CBT in the conduct of examinations.
This is to be put to the test for the private candidates in 2024 (first series).
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While explaining the modalities of the examination, the West Africa Examination Council explained that the objective/multiple choice test of the examinations would be fully computer-based, while essays and practical questions would be in a hybrid format.
That is, practical and theoretical examination questions will be delivered on the screen for students perusal while they are required to provide the answers in the answer booklets to be provided at the venue of the examination.
The examination body also announced that the registration for the CBT format examination would begin on Monday, 18 December, 2023.
The WAEC CBT Mock Exam to be conducted
The West African Examination Council further assured its readiness to hold mock examinations for participating students in order to familiarize with the new mode of the examination.
This mock is set to be conducted prior to the commencement of the main West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination for private students in February 2024.
“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,” WAEC wrote.
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