By Gabriel Dike
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), yesterday, expressed concern over the activities of rogue website operators in the ongoing May/June 2022 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The council in a statement signed by its acting Public Affairs Officer, Mrs. Moyosola Adeyegbe, condemned candidates and parents for patronising rogue website operators.
Adeyegbe drew the attention of stakeholders and the public to the unwholesome activities perpetrated by unscrupulous elements in the conduct of the 2022 WASSCE.
“The council is aware of the operations of these vile individuals, most especially the rogue website operators, who are hell-bent on sabotaging the noble efforts and concrete arrangements put in place by WAEC to ensure the successful conduct of the examination. The council is equally aware that these individuals perpetrate their dastardly acts through various social media platforms, such as Blogs, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram.”
Adeyegbe said these unpatriotic individuals see WASSCE and other examinations as a business venture and an avenue to make money, thereby deceiving innocent and gullible candidates and their parents.
She said exam fraudsters lure candidates and their parents by proposing shortcuts to examination success by lying to them that WAEC questions can be accessed earlier than the due date.
“This is nothing but a lie from the pit of hell. Please, for the avoidance of doubt, and for the benefit of the general public, this is not true. The council works hard to put firm security measures in place to protect the integrity of its test items. Unfortunately, some candidates have fallen prey to the ‘trash’ being served on these rogue platforms. They no longer read their books because of the promise of access to “WAEC questions!” This is a very sad and dangerous development.”
The image-maker said the council assured the general public that the rogue website would not go unpunished as they will be brought to book and made to pay for all their crimes, noting “the council will stop at nothing to ensure that the fight against this societal ill is won at all costs. We are grateful to the Nigeria Police Force for the robust collaboration in this regard.”
The council reminded candidates that there are no shortcuts to examination success ands warned that any candidate caught in the act would be appropriately sanctioned as approved by the Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC), the council’s highest decision-making organ on examination-related matters.
“It will be painful to spend six years in secondary school and not have any results to show for their learning and efforts.”
According to her, the council advised parents to encourage their children/wards to study hard and desist from patronising these evil peddlers who are out to destroy the destiny of their children/wards. Parents are equally advised to stop funding these illicit acts.
The council used the medium to appeal to the various ministries of education to warn invigilators, supervisors, school administrators, and school owners who are fond of extorting and harassing candidates to pay for “examination settlement”, that such actions will not be tolerated, and any school caught will face appropriate sanctions.
The council appeals to all concerned to disregard these rogue website operators and their various platforms and join WAEC in the fight against examination malpractice.