From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
A Ghanaian, Jonathan Nkansah, was, yesterday, presented with the overall best National Distinction Award of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) for 2019.
Nkansah had his nursery and primary education at Olumawu Nursery and Primary School, Abuja while his secondary school was at Christ the King College, Gwagwalada, Abuja.
A non-council member representing Nigeria on Sub-Board of Trustees of WAEC Endowment Fund, Godwin Uzoigwe, presented the award to Nkansah during the 58th Annual Meeting of the Nigeria National Committee of the council held in Awka, the Anambra State capital.
Uzoigwe said Jonathan was presently studying Petroleum Engineering at Covenant University, Ota in Ogun State.
Kenechukwu Emmanuel and Olaiya Oluwadara came second and third respectively in the WAEC award.
Uzoigwe said since the WAEC National Distinction/Merit awards began in 1985, two facts were significant.
He said: “Winners of the awards have always been high flyers whose academic excellence spanned their primary and secondary careers and who continued to blaze the trail in the best universities in Nigeria, Europe, America – the awards have thus confirmed the validity of WAEC assessment.
“No school or class of schools has the monopoly of producing brilliant candidates as village/community schools have, once in a while, produced award winners.”
Solomon Olorundare, who spoke on behalf of the Chairman, Nigeria National Committee, Binta Abdulkadir, said the examination body had taken advantage of ICT to improve its service delivery.
“The Nigerian office in particular has taken advantage of ICT to improve its service delivery.
“This includes the online registration of candidates for senior school and private candidates, the deployment of social code on the certificate thereby making it impossible to falsify certificates issued by the council, adaptation of computer-based test and Item Detection Profile to stop the menace of examination malpractice.”