WAEC Increases SSCE Registration Fee By 29%, Withholds Results Of ‘indebted’ States’ Candidates

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has increased the registration fee for its examination from N13,950 to N18,000.

The increment, which amounts to about 29 percent, will take effect with the 2022 senior school certificate examination (SSCE).

WAEC made the disclosure during the announcement of the release of the 2021 May/June diet of the SSCE on Monday in Lagos.

This is as the examination body has declared that no candidate sponsored by any state government that is owing it would have access to his or her results.

The Head of Nigeria Office of WAEC, Patrick Areghan, who made the announcement, blamed the development on the coronavirus pandemic, rising inflation rates, and the biting insecurity.

He said: “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.”

Mr. Areghan said any amount beyond N18,000 charged by any school “will not be to our consent or knowledge and will definitely not come to the purse of the West African Examinations Council.”

Indebted states

Though Mr. Areghan did not list the specific states that are owing WAEC registration fees for their candidates, he did confirm that some state governments are owing and that the results of the sponsored candidates would be withheld until the concerned governments pay up.

This has been a lot of some of the candidates who sat a similar examination conducted by the National Examination Council (NECO) earlier in the year.

WAEC said the results were being uploaded as of Monday afternoon and urged candidates who have fulfilled all obligations including those who are not owing the examination body to check the website for the results.

The HNO said: “Gentlemen of the media, as I address you at this briefing, the results are being uploaded on the results website. Candidates who sat the examination and who have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Council can access their performance on the Council’s results website: www.waecdirect.org. Needless restating the fact that the results of indebted candidates or Schools or States will not be released until they pay up.

“The Result Checker PIN and Serial Number required by candidates to check their results online are contained on the Candidate’s Smart Identity Card used during the conduct of the examination. Certificates of candidates whose results have been fully processed and released will be ready within the next 90 days, counting from today.”