The West African Examination Council (WAEC), has threatened it may consider hauling Africa Education Watch and its assigns to court over “inaccurate” report.
Africa Education Watch, released a report on its assessment of the 2020 West African Secondary Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The report alleged a number of irregularities witnessed during the period of the examination.
The assessment by the Africa Education Watch uncovered that among other things, there was widespread leakages of examination papers.
Education Watch’s report also said for the first time ever in the history of the WASSCE, the contact details of examiners were leaked to students and parents.
But WAEC says the think tank’s report was full with factual inaccuracies and wondered why WAEC was not consulted in the preparation of the report.
Speaking at a press conference in response to the Education think tank’s assessment report, the Head of the Legal Department at WAEC, Rev. Victor Brew, said WAEC is considering all options, including legal action against Africa Education Watch over its misleading report.
“All options are on the table including a legal suit. These are things that management has to first strategize on. Don’t be surprised if you hear of it in the coming days. But I can’t tell the actual date this will happen.”
As part of its recommendations, Education Watch called for thorough research and investigation into the 2020 WASSCE, as well as asked the government to digitize the question distribution system.
However, responding to this suggestion, the Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, Agnes Teye-Cudjoe said “The report recommends an internet-based encrypted email system which sends questions 30 minutes ahead of time to exam centers by which time candidates are to be seated. It is easier to write this than to implement it.”
“That is why we insist that Arica Education Watch did not engage us, if they did, they would have understood better our processes and procedures and come out with more feasible recommendations. We are open to recommendations, but we also have to consider the feasibility,” she added.
