All Posts in "Education"

Dr. Nwariaku now the Chief of Surgery at the University of Utah, USA.

Dr. Nwariaku is the new Chief of Surgery at the University of Utah, USA.

By Abraham Ariyo, M.D.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ohwofiemu Nwariaku, M.D., as the New Chief of Surgery at the University of Utah, USA, effective July 1st, 2022.

I placed a phone call to congratulate “Bondi”, as we called him at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan when we were students. He was excited about his new appointment and we transiently celebrated on the phone, pending real ‘washing’ to follow very soon.

In 2000, when I interviewed for a cardiology faculty job at University of Texas -Southwestern Medical School (UTSW) in Dallas, a prominent Black surgeon was leaving to become Head of Surgery at the University of Utah. He was from the Caribbean. Fast forward, two decades later, our own man, who was just two years on the faculty at the time, is now stepping up to fill the top spot In Utah.

Dr. Nwariaku graduated from the University of Ibadan College of Medicine in 1987. He did his internship at Baptist Hospital in Ogbomosho where he distinguished himself. He impressed the visiting American surgeons there.

When dedication and hard work meet luck, the result is excellence. This rough diamond that was discovered in Ogbomosho ended up at UTSW in Dallas for residency in surgery. He has been in Dallas ever since, quietly working hard and silently digging for gold. Gold he found in 2022!

I ended up moving to Dallas in 2000, but not at UTSW. In fact, I didn’t know he was there.

In 2002, we were staring at each other while waiting for food at the Nigeria restaurant in Dallas. Since we both happened to be married to non-Nigerians, our occasional visits to this restaurant were marked with pent-up demand for and eagerness to taste that our motherland food.

While I was waiting for my pounded yam and goat meat, which I was salivating to receive, he was waiting for the arrival of his full meal, topped off with serious goat head ? soup.

After fulfilling our respective gastric desires and having both completed our liver rounds, we sat close to catch up with each other. We discussed old UCH memories. Another member of his ‘87 class, Edwin Ojo (late), the gastroenterologist among the three of us, was present at the feast.

Fiemu and I have remained in Dallas ever since. In 2007, I saw him at 11pm after our local ANPA meeting and he said, “Abraham, isn’t Adisa in your set?” I said, “Yes. I have been looking for him since 1988, and no one could tell me his whereabout.” He said, “Guess what? He is at my house now, but leaves for Nigeria at 6am tomorrow morning.” I immediately drove straight to Bondi’s house to meet Professor Adisa (late) at midnight. We all spent that night reminiscing about our student lives at UCH with fun memories.

That meeting finally rekindled my link with my lost old friend. At the time, Adisa and Fiemu were prominent world class surgeons doing international collaborative work and research.

In 2013, a visiting ex-Minister asked me for help regarding his wife who needed some surgical treatment, I promptly called Fiemu and the ex-Minister’s wife was taken care of. They were happy with the care they received from Fiemu.

In 2014, Fiemu called me and informed me that the Governor of Bayelsa was sending a delegation to Dallas as a fact-finding team regarding their proposed Bayelsa Medical Complex Building. I was glad to join Fiemu in showing the Governor’s delegates several hospitals that my colleagues and I had built in the Dallas metroplex.

In 2017, Fiemu contacted me to inform me that President Olusegun Obasanjo was coming to Dallas, as part of his world tour to launch his new book. It was held at SMU here in Dallas.

At one point, I had to ask him, “Fiemu, we are now moving in the company of ex-Ministers, Governors and even President of Nigeria! What’s up with that? We are moving on up brother.” He laughed. Such a humble guy. He said, “Abraham, we just need to keep doing our good work.”

‘I am, therefore, extremely pleased to announce to you, our own Bondi, all the way from UCH, as the next chief of the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah, Professor Ohwofiemu Nwariaku.”

Patoma Admin by — April 17, 2022 in Education 0
Nigerian man is first Igbo language lecturer at the University of Oxford

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

A Nigerian man, Emmanuel Ikechukwu Umenyiora, has become the first Igbo language lecturer at the University of Oxford in the UK.

As Oxford University gets her First Igbo Language Lecturer, Emmanuel took to his Twitter page to share the news, after his induction which held on Thursday, February 17.

Emmanuel shared the news on Twitter after his induction which held on Thursday, February 17. He wrote;

”It is official that I am the first official Igbo Language lecturer at the number one university in the world, the University of Oxford.

Our induction happened today by Marion Sadoux, Head of Modern Language Programmes, University of Oxford Language Centre.

This became possible in account of the James Currey Society. This is the first time Igbo language will be taught at the university. History has been made. I am so happy and grateful for this opportunity. I promise to make the Igbo language and culture known to the world.”

Nigerian man shares his excitement at becoming the first Igbo language lecturer at the University of Oxford

Patoma Admin by — February 18, 2022 in Education 0
UI Pharmacy student, Cynthia Okafor, graduates with 6.9 out of 7.0 CGPA

By admin

A student of the University Of Ibadan, Cynthia Okafor has emerged as the Best Graduating Student in the Faculty of Pharmacy.

Cynthia on Twitter shared pictures of herself in her convocation gown and also the awards she received from the school after graduating with a CGPA of 6.9 out of 7.0 from her faculty.

She tweeted,  “I just emerged as the Best Graduating Student of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan with a CGPA of 6.9 out of 7.0 & distinctions in 5 out of the 6 departments in the Faculty. Indeed I have seen God’s power yield much more for me than my human efforts could ever have!”  Credit: Twitter | cynthiaokafor_

Patoma Admin by — February 11, 2022 in Education 0
2022 International Day of Education: looking back and leading forward in post-COVID19 learning recovery

We mark the fourth International Day of Education grappling with the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our current generation of learners , which at the peak of school closures disrupted learning of more than 1.6 billion children and youth across the world. We are living a “crisis within a crisis”.

Back in January 2021, we commemorated the day with a blog by World Bank Managing Director Mari Pangestu: “Harnessing the promise of innovation in education“ in which she sounded the alarm on the impacts of the unfolding crisis and highlighted the opportunities offered by innovative approaches to delivering remote education during the pandemic. A related feature story: Urgent, Effective Action Required to Quell the Impact of COVID-19 on Education Worldwide – already then, was pointing to the huge potential learning loses and calling for urgent action to address these impact and invest in building back more effective, equitable and resilient education systems.

A lot happened in 12 months, but two things are now vividly clear: (i) the learning losses and the ensuing social and economic costs are substantial; (ii) urgent and ambitious action is needed to recover losses and accelerate learning. 

By the end of 2021, the evidence of the unprecedented magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic-inflicted education crisis was undisputable. In our joint State of the Education Crisis Report, with UNESCO and UNICEF, we updated our estimates of the economic costs of learning losses: this generation stands to lose $17 trillion in lifetime earnings (in present value) or about 14 percent of today’s global GDP, due to COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures and the economic shocks. This new projection far exceeds our $10 trillion estimates released in 2020. Moreover, in low- and middle-income countries, the share of children living in Learning Poverty – already 53 percent before the pandemic – could reach 70 percent given the long school closures and the ineffectiveness of remote learning to ensure learning continuity for young children. The latest data also points to an inequality catastrophe in the making: across generations, socio-economic groups, locations, and across countries.

A chorus of voices internationally is sounding the alarm for policy makers to act now and decisively. At the end of 2021, the outgoing UNICEF Head, Henrietta Fore, and World Bank Group President, David Malpass uttered a powerful message to reverse the pandemic’s education losses, and highlighted that by investing in learning recovery and using technology wisely we can turn the challenges and lessons from the pandemic into a catalyst to achieve the SDG goal of quality education for all children .

We enter the third year of the pandemic armed with new data and lessons on how countries are ensuring learning continuity and recovery in the midst of the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, along with updated guidance and tools for: reopening and keeping opened schools safely, making remote learning more effective, measuring learning loss and assessing learning remotely, supporting teachers, and for developing and implementing robust evidence-based and inclusive learning recovery plans. Our education team, in collaboration with several partners, has been actively contributing to the global knowledge base in this area. Below is a very selected compilation of links to these resources.

As our teams and policy makers leverage this knowledge to implement aggressive measures to bring all students back to school and roll out ambitious learning recovery programs, we cannot forget to listen to the advice and lessons learned shared by learners themselves. Last year over 400 high school students from 62 countries across every continent, from various social, cultural and economic backgrounds, told us about their experience learning during COVID-19 and shared their ideas on how to improve the learning experience. Once again, we want to hear from you.

Meanwhile, let me share my own takeaways on what it takes to recover from this crisis and rebuild back better, effective, equitable and resilient education systems:

  1. In order realize the future of learning where learning does not stop at the school walls, we need to be guided by the fact that children learn best when they experience joy, rigor, and purpose in the learning process. Resilience and equity in education are two sides of the same coin. Remote education needs to harness the power of connectedness and meaningful two-way interactions between teachers and learners, and need to engage and support parents as partners to ensure both continuity of learning and children’s socioemotional well-being, especially in the early years.
  2. While not a magic bullet, education technology can be an effective tool to expand access to learning both inside and outside of the classroom, building more resilient systems that personalize learning at and beyond the school. To realize this potential, investments in EdTech need to be embedded in broad, sustainable policies and programs that enable schools and education systems to accelerate learning, with a ruthless focus on equity. Digital learning must serve as the great equalizer, rather than what it has been: a great divider.
  3. All efforts should aim at enhancing the effectiveness of teachers, through constant and effective feedback on how to improve their pedagogy, structured lesson plans, and strategies to nurture socio-emotional skills and to assess learning in the classroom. This support should include expanding their access and capacity to utilize technology, including technical and pedagogical competencies needed for effective remote teaching.
  4. We need to end the learning data crisis. Collecting data and building national capacity to assess that learning is actually happening and monitor progress, understand the drivers of learning and improve management and delivery through feedback mechanisms.
  5. As countries use data and evidence to design more effective policies, they also need to strive to invest and get better in the capacity to implement them and deliver services, while leveraging partnerships. Without good implementation, good policies will remain as good intentions. Local capacities need to be harnessed through cooperation across all levels of government as well as partnerships between the public and private sector.
Patoma Admin by — January 27, 2022 in Education 0
Leading thoughts on ways to revamp secondary schools

By Tope Adaramola

Gone were those days when secondary education in Nigeria was a worthy experience. We had many things that engaged not only our brains but also our brawn. As young people whose greatest assets were their physical strength, the authorities developed the school curriculum to actively engage these potentials.
There was hardly any secondary school, especially the ones owned by government that were not located on an expansive landmass, giving room for effective recreation and all round activities by the students, whether day or border.

There were sporting arenas for different games through which budding talents were horned from healthy competitions. There were also geographical and botanical gardens that provided physical expression to what the students learn in class. Without having visited an airport or boarded an air plane, I already could describe different vegetation in several geographical zones in the world. I realized how great those gardens were when I had the privilege of travelling so many years after school only to physically sight some of the topographies that we were taught in class from the windows of the aero plane.

There were also voluntary societies where the students learned leadership, discipline and patriotism. It was out of sync for any student not to belong to either the Boys Scout, Man “O” War, Red Cross, Boys Brigade or Sheriff. These institutions or societies provided recreation and avenues for the young lass or lads to expend their abundant energies as well as redirect their minds to responsible conduct growing up. I must specially commend the boarding facilities that existed in schools those days.

Among other things they served as the platform for understanding mutual respect and love for those outside your personal confines or narrow territories. This writer was most privileged to attend a cosmopolitan school that had a huge mixture of tribes, from different parts of the country under the then national schools exchange programme. It was a baptism into nationalistic orientation. Being a Yoruba boy, I had to relate with my next bunk guy who perhaps was from Benue, of Idoma extraction, while the guy seating next to me in class hailed from Nnnewi, of Igbo nationality.

The nuances of the different tribes were easily learned and we were orientated into seeing ourselves as Nigerians who must do away with our various parochial beliefs. This affected my world view till today as I could hardly come to terms with anyone preaching noxious tribal or religious sentiments. Ofcourse, why would I forget the rich religious activities that were encouraged in schools. The fear of God was made paramount in the budding hearts of the young lads in school. You either belonged to the FCS (Fellowship of Christian Students) or the MSS (Muslim Students Society).

Aside from the bond of unity and tolerance, the Societies enculturated the students into life of responsibility, civility and decent conduct. No student wanted to stay out of these religious folds as they could easily be tagged “children of the devil” or what we called “Omo Esu” in Yoruba parlance.
To allow all these lessons learned from school to fester in our minds was an environment that was fairly conductive in the home front.

The parents were quite responsible and had adapted to self-contentment, living within their means, rather than indulging in rat-race for wealth as we have nowadays. It was a time when crying home that you were canned by a teacher would most assuredly earn you more punishments, with either of your parents or a guardian taking you back to school and requesting that you are thoroughly flogged before all your classmates. Assembly periods were often dreaded by students, especially the serial offenders.

The School Principal was like a god that must be venerated. They determined when to discipline and what type of discipline to give depending on the gravity of offence committed by the student. You may be asked to uproot a stubborn tree on the school compound or wash all the toilets. The gravest offence could attract expulsion or even dismissal and they were under only little strangle hold from the so called authorities as we have in some cases today. It is not a coincidence that many of those who go through those punishments are today priding themselves as today’s leaders, holding commanding positions in the society.

But years down the line, it is saddening when introspecting on how we missed the tangent so widely. How did we lose all those great values that made our schools great? Where is the discipline? Where are the “culturing pots” that cooked our own generation? Accepted some may say that was in the days of yore, or better put “old school” culture, yet we should ask whether it paid us better or not.

Yes, some felt the environment was harsh, yet we fail to realise that it was that furnace of harshness that the greatness in our generation was fashioned. Many of us, now parents swank about saying we do not want our children to go through what we went through, yet we are where we are today, helplessly seeing our children veering off from the mooring of goodly conduct.

Just as the parents have become more and more irresponsible, obsessively pursuing daily bread at the expense of their “future” so also have the teachers become frustrated partly due to the non-cooperative attitude of parents, fueled by the mollifying of their powers and authority by government authorities who unfortunately are their employers.

The centre seem not to hold anymore. Result of this is what we are seeing today. It calls for urgent attention that terrorist and cultists are being groomed in our secondary schools as we could see unfolding before our eyes, yet we seem unconcerned. Many would have read in the news about how some rampaging students of two secondary schools in Abeokuta battered a superior Police Officer, bathing him with his own blood. News also captured how a student recently ambushed a teacher and shot him dead. Several maleficence that could make one twitch are happening all over the country, courtesy of secondary students on a daily basis.

Without being a pessimist, I beg to say that all these shenanigans are just a tip of the iceberg compared to what we would soon be experiencing. I feel that now is the time for a stakeholders meeting to be convoked by state governments and relevant authorities, in order to revive our secondary schools from the precipice and salvage our collective future. Those stakeholders need not over belabor themselves.

Let them take a look at those traits which I earlier highlighted that made our schools thick and see a way of reinventing them. With that starting point, I think it would be seen that we are serious as a people and government to return sanity to our schools. Surely, this madness has to stop!

Tope Adaramola is a PR practitioner and public commentator

Patoma Admin by — November 26, 2021 in Education 0
Leadingvthe right thoughts on ways to revamp our secondary schools

By Tope Adaramola

 

Gone were those days when secondary education in Nigeria was a worthy experience. We had many things that engaged not only our brains but also our brawn. As young people whose greatest assets were their physical strength, the authorities developed the school curriculum to actively engage these potentials.
There was hardly any secondary school, especially the ones owned by government that were not located on an expansive landmass, giving room for effective recreation and all round activities by the students, whether day or border. There were sporting arenas for different games through which budding talents were horned from healthy competitions.

Therewere also geographical and botanical gardens that provided physical expression to what the students learn in class. Without having visited an airport or boarded an air plane, I already could describe different vegetation in several geographical zones in the world. I realized how great those gardens were when I had the privilege of travelling so many years after school only to physically sight some of the topographies that we were taught in class from the windows of the aero plane.

There were also voluntary societies where the students learned leadership, discipline and patriotism. It was out of sync for any student not to belong to either the Boys Scout, Man “O” War, Red Cross, Boys Brigade or Sheriff. These institutions or societies provided recreation and avenues for the young lass or lads to expend their abundant energies as well as redirect their minds to responsible conduct growing up. I must specially commend the boarding facilities that existed in schools those days.

Among other things they served as the platform for understanding mutual respect and love for those outside your personal confines or narrow territories. This writer was most privileged to attend a cosmopolitan school that had a huge mixture of tribes, from different parts of the country under the then national schools exchange programme. It was a baptism into nationalistic orientation. Being a Yoruba boy, I had to relate with my next bunk guy who perhaps was from Benue, of Idoma extraction, while the guy seating next to me in class hailed from Nnnewi, of Igbo nationality. The nuances of the different tribes were easily learned and we were orientated into seeing ourselves as Nigerians who must do away with our various parochial beliefs.

This affected my world view till today as I could hardly come to terms with anyone preaching noxious tribal or religious sentiments. Ofcourse, why would I forget the rich religious activities that were encouraged in schools. The fear of God was made paramount in the budding hearts of the young lads in school. You either belonged to the FCS (Fellowship of Christian Students) or the MSS (Muslim Students Society). Aside from the bond of unity and tolerance, the Societies enculturated the students into life of responsibility, civility and decent conduct.

No student wanted to stay out of these religious folds as they could easily be tagged “children of the devil” or what we called “Omo Esu” in Yoruba parlance.
To allow all these lessons learned from school to fester in our minds was an environment that was fairly conductive in the home front. The parents were quite responsible and had adapted to self-contentment, living within their means, rather than indulging in rat-race for wealth as we have nowadays.

It was a time when crying home that you were canned by a teacher would most assuredly earn you more punishments, with either of your parents or a guardian taking you back to school and requesting that you are thoroughly flogged before all your classmates. Assembly periods were often dreaded by students, especially the serial offenders. The School Principal was like a god that must be venerated. They determined when to discipline and what type of discipline to give depending on the gravity of offence committed by the student. You may be asked to uproot a stubborn tree on the school compound or wash all the toilets

. The gravest offence could attract expulsion or even dismissal and they were under only little strangle hold from the so called authorities as we have in some cases today. It is not a coincidence that many of those who go through those punishments are today priding themselves as today’s leaders, holding commanding positions in the society.
But years down the line, it is saddening when introspecting on how we missed the tangent so widely. How did we lose all those great values that made our schools great? Where is the discipline?

Whereare the “culturing pots” that cooked our own generation? Accepted some may say that was in the days of yore, or better put “old school” culture, yet we should ask whether it paid us better or not. Yes, some felt the environment was harsh, yet we fail to realise that it was that furnace of harshness that the greatness in our generation was fashioned. Many of us, now parents swank about saying we do not want our children to go through what we went through, yet we are where we are today, helplessly seeing our children veering off from the mooring of goodly conduct.

Just as the parents have become more and more irresponsible, obsessively pursuing daily bread at the expense of their “future” so also have the teachers become frustrated partly due to the non-cooperative attitude of parents, fueled by the mollifying of their powers and authority by government authorities who unfortunately are their employers. The centre seem not to hold anymore. Result of this is what we are seeing today. It calls for urgent attention that terrorist and cultists are being groomed in our secondary schools as we could see unfolding before our eyes, yet we seem unconcerned.

Many would have read in the news about how some rampaging students of two secondary schools in Abeokuta battered a superior Police Officer, bathing him with his own blood. News also captured how a student recently ambushed a teacher and shot him dead. Several maleficence that could make one twitch are happening all over the country, courtesy of secondary students on a daily basis.

Without being a pessimist, I beg to say that all these shenanigans are just a tip of the iceberg compared to what we would soon be experiencing. I feel that now is the time for a stakeholders meeting to be convoked by state governments and relevant authorities, in order to revive our secondary schools from the precipice and salvage our collective future.

Those stakeholders need not over belabor themselves. Let them take a look at those traits which I earlier highlighted that made our schools thick and see a way of reinventing them. With that starting point, I think it would be seen that we are serious as a people and government to return sanity to our schools. Surely, this madness has to stop!

Tope Adaramola
is a PR practitioner and public commentator

Patoma Admin by — November 25, 2021 in Education 0
JAMB uncovers 706,189 illegal admissions by varsities, others

By admin

The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede stated that agency has uncovered 706,189 illegal admissions by universities, Colleges of Education, polytechnics and other allies.

Oloyede at the Consultative Sensitization Meeting with Select Stakeholders in Abuja today,  said the illegal admissions have damaged the image of the country.

He said the illegality was perpetrated in all the six geopolitical zones by public and private higher institutions.
While about 114 universities accounted for 67.795 of the illegal admissions, 137 polytechnics were responsible for 489,918, 80 Colleges of Education for 142, 818 and 37 other institutions involved in 5,678 cases.

The undisclosed admissions were perpetrated from 2017 to 2020 by the affected institutions.
He said such admissions were unknown to JAMB as prescribed by law.

While about 114 universities accounted for 67.795 of the illegal admissions, 137 polytechnics were responsible for 489,918, 80 Colleges of Education for 142, 818 and 37 other institutions involved in 5,678 cases.

The undisclosed admissions were perpetrated from 2017 to 2020 by the affected institutions.

He said such admissions were unknown to JAMB as prescribed by law.

But the Minister of Education has assented to JAMB’s plea for a last chance for the violators.

He said the institutions disregarded JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS which allows institutions to “only admit candidates that met the requirements.”

He said the affected institutions’ Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts have admitted their mistakes by “sending a formal letter of confession and disclosure to the JAMB Registrar.”

In the list of the 114 universities given to stakeholders, some of the top indicted for illegal admissions include University of Jos(7,600); Benue State University(6,171); Olabisi Onabanjo University(5,669); Kwara State University(4, 281); Novena University(3,432); University of Nigeria, Nsukka(2,732); and Imo State University(2,330).

Others listed were University of Nigeria, Nsukka(2,732); Imo State University(2,330); University of Calabar(2,074); NTA Television College(1,934); Baze University(1,717); Oduduwa University(1,450); Kaduna State College of Education(1,417); Tai Solarin University of Education(1,101); Al-qalam University(1,062); Gombe State University(1,017).

Oloyede said: “As a measure of mopping up the backlog of improperly admitted candidates, the Honourable Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, assented to the Board’s plea for a last chance for the violators.

Patoma Admin by — November 24, 2021 in Education 0
Nigeria’s Faith Odunsi, 15, crowned world’s Best Mathematics student; solves 19 questions in 60 seconds

By Favour Nnabugwu

The National Mathematics Centre of Nigeria (NMC) has crowned Miss Faith Odunsi of Ambassador College, Otta in Ogun State, Nigeria, as the ‘MATHEMATICS QUEEN’ for her outstanding performance in the National Olympiads Competition. Miss Faith Odunsi reportedly solved 19 mathematics questions in 60 seconds and thus became the Best Girl in Mathematics competition

Nigerian student, Faith Odunsi, 15, beat China, the UK, the US, and others in a global math competition — a move that made herself a part of history.

As the winner of the Global Open Mathematics competition, Odunsi excelled in all rounds of the competition and didn’t immediately think she would be announced the winner until she answered more questions than her competitors in the final round.

“My heart raced but I felt relieved,” said the West Africa queen

Currently, Odunsi is in her final year as a high school student at the Ambassadors School, Ota Ogun State.

Odunsi’s father is a doctor and her mother is a businesswoman and she says she has her dad to thank for the math genes

This accomplishment is something that Odunsi says makes her feel “happy and honored.” Despite the fact that the competition was tough, Odunsi managed to win by a 30-point margin.

Now, as the winner of the competition, Odunsi not only walked away with the title, but she also secured a $1,000 prize.

Patoma Admin by — November 23, 2021 in Education 0
WAEC to hold May/June, increase fee from N13,950 to N18, 000

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Head of Nigeria National office, West African Examination Council, WAEC, Mr. Patrick Areghan has announced that the 2022 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, will be conducted in May/June.

Recall that in recent times, WAEC conducted WASSCE between August and October.
Mr. Areghan disclosed the revert back to the previous duration of the conduct of WASSCE, on Monday while announcing 2021 results at the council national office, Yaba.

He said, ” Let me thank the Federal and the various Ministries of Education for working so hard to stabilize the academic calendar. Accordingly, as a result of the return to normalcy, the Honourable Minister of Education has requested that the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2022 should be conducted in May/June 2022.

This position has been communicated to the Registrar to Council in Accra and he has assured us that it will be reckoned with in drawing up the International Time-table for the examination. And so, by the special grace of God, the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2022 will be taking place in May/June 2022. Entries for the examination will be floated on Monday, December 6, 2021.” WAEC boss explained.

Meanwhile, Mr. Areghan has disclosed that from 2022, the cost of registration for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, has been raised from N13,950 to N18,000 to meet the demands of economic reality.

According to him:” Owing to the devastating effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic which has brought the global economy to its knees, the unabating spiraling inflation in the country as can be seen in the general cost of doing business and the multiplier effect of the unabating insecurity in the country, which have consequential effects on the cost of our operations, it is no longer possible to continue to provide services with the current fee of N13,950.00 per candidate.

Furthermore, our ad-hoc workers – Supervisors, Examiners, Checkers, item Writers and indeed, all examination functionaries, have been agitating for improved remunerations.
We have received approval from the appropriate quarters with effect from the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2022, to charge N18,000.00 per candidate. We are, therefore, asking all school principals to collect N18,000.00 per candidate for registration.

A part of this new fee has been dedicated to the enhancement of the remunerations for the various examination functionaries and our Governing Board has graciously approved the remunerations, which will come into effect from the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2022.

Any amount beyond this ceiling will not be to our consent or knowledge and will definitely not come to the purse of the West African Examinations Council.” Mr. Areghan noted.

Patoma Admin by — November 22, 2021 in Education 0
WAEC releases WASSCE results, 80.56% processed, 19.44% being processed

By Favour Nnabugwu the

 

 

The release of the results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination ,WASSCE for School Candidates, 2021 in Nigeria have been released with a total of 80.56 percent fully processed, and 19.44 percent still being processed due to some issues being resolved.

The Head of Nigeria National office of the Council, Mr. Patrick Areghan disclosed this on Monday, announcing that a total of total of One Million, Five Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty Nine (1,573,849) candidates registered for the examination from Nineteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty Five (19,425) recognised secondary schools in the country. Of the number that registered for the examination, One Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty One (1,560,261) candidates sat the examination.

Stating that the body needed to be praised for the timely release of results after 45 days of completion of the examination that ran between August 16 and October 8, 2021 despite the myriad of challenges it faced in some parts of the country, coupled with effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

His words: “The examination, which was an international one, took place simultaneously throughout the five member countries of the Council – The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, using the same International Timetable.

“The examination spanned seven weeks, between August 16 and October 8, 2021. Throughout the period, we were faced with serious security challenges in the South East (IPOB and ESN sit-at-home order) and banditry, kidnapping, insurgency, etc, in the north and other parts of the country. All these, coupled with the continuous effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic, made the whole exercise an Herculean one.

“In conducting the examination, we were guided by the various measures/
protocols rolled out by the Federal and various State governments, aimed at checking the spread of the Corona Virus Disease. The Coordination of Examiners and Marking of Candidates’ Scripts took place at Eighty Five (85) traditional and three (3) e-Marking Venues throughout the country. A total of Seventy Seven Thousand, Three Hundred and Sixty-Eight (77,368) Examiners participated in the coordination and marking exercise.

“The examination ended on October 8, 2021 and today, Monday, November 22, 2021 – 45 days after the conduct of the last paper, we are releasing the result! This is a record time, taking into consideration the fact that we lost a week to insecurity, during the marking exercise in the South East, occasioned by the heightened tension before and during the Anambra Gubernatorial election.
“It is, therefore, not true, as you can see, that WAEC delayed the release of the results of the WASSCE (SC) 2021 as is being speculated in some quarters. We have kept to our promise, in spite of all odds. We should be praised rather than being vilified. Nothing can be faster or earlier than what we have done. We do not release results without marking the scripts and processing the scores. We are grateful to the examiners for doing a good job within the stipulated period.

“A total of One Million, Five Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty Nine (1,573,849) candidates registered for the examination from Nineteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty Five (19,425) recognised secondary schools in the country. Of the number that registered for the examination, One Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty One (1,560,261) candidates sat the examination.

“The examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in Benin Republic and Cote d’Ivoire, where the Nigeria curriculum for Senior Secondary School is being used. Schools in Equatorial Guinea could not present candidates for the examination due to logistic challenges posed by COVID-19. ” He said.

Breakdown of the results

Mr. Areghan explained that:” I also wish to report that a total of One Thousand, Five Hundred and Thirty Nine (1,539) candidates, with varying degrees of Special Needs, registered for the examination. Out of this number, Four Hundred and Sixty (460) were visually challenged, Five Hundred and Eighty Two (582) had impaired hearing; Three Hundred and Sixty Two (362) were spastic cum mentally challenged and Fifty Nine (59) were physically challenged. All these candidates were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination. The results of these candidates have been processed and are also being released along with those of other candidates.

“Of the total number of One Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty One (1,560,261) candidates that sat the examination, Seven Hundred and Eighty Four Thousand, Six Hundred and Seventy Seven (784,677) were males while Seven Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand, Five Hundred and Eighty Four (775,584) were females, representing 50.29% and 49.71%, respectively.

“Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination in Nigeria, One Million, Two Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety (1,256,990) candidates, representing 80.56% have their results fully processed and released while Three Hundred and Three Thousand, Two Hundred and Seventy One (303,271) candidates, representing 19.44% have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some issues being resolved. Efforts are, however, being made to speedily complete the processing to enable all the affected candidates get their results fully processed and released within the next one week.

Analysis of results
Candidates have good standing despite hitches during the examination
Responding to questions on the performance of students at this year’s WASSCE, the Head of WAEC reiterated that collective efforts of all stakeholders were responsible for the 89.62 percent obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five (5) subjects (i.e with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics.

He gave the breakdown as follows: “The analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates in the examination shows that out of the One Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty One (1,560,261) candidates that sat the examination,

“One Million, Three Hundred and Ninety Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy (1,398,370) candidates, representing 89.62%, obtained credit and above in a minimum of any five (5) subjects (i.e with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics;

“One Million, Two Hundred and Seventy Four Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighty Four (1,274,784) candidates, representing 81.7%, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.”

Ratio between male and female

“Of this number, Six Hundred and Thirty Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty Eight (630,138) i.e. 49.43% were male candidates, while Six Hundred and Forty Four Thousand, Six Hundred and Forty Six (644,646) i.e. 50.57% were female candidates. The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2020, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 65.24%. Thus, there is an appreciable 16.46% improvement in performance in this regard.

“The results of One Hundred and Seventy Thousand, One Hundred and Forty Six (170,146) candidates, representing 10.9% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice

Patoma Admin by — November 22, 2021 in Education 0