The Head of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) National Office, Patrick Areghan, said on Saturday, September 23, 2023, that the body plans to introduce the Computer Based Test (CBT) mode in the administration of its examinations.
Areghan stated this while briefing journalists on the council’s achievements under his watch in Lagos.
He will step down from the position at the end of his three-year tenure on October 1.
Areghan said the introduction of the CBT in the West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and other tests conducted by WAEC had been part of his vision for the body.
He said: “We have already started something regarding the CBT examination. We have gone far with our planning and all of that, even in the sub-region, the registrar to the council is also doing something.
“But this is not as easy as some people will think. This is because we ask ourselves, how do we conduct CBT for practicals and essay papers?
“We can only readily do that in the case of objective questions. But so many people will not see it from that angle. They argue that some others are doing it, so why can’t WAEC do the same?
“Now, no one even talks about energy; how many schools are exposed to computer literacy? How many have computer facilities and electricity to run these things?
“Even where you have all these things on the ground, how do you handle the issue of theory and practical papers? So, these are the issues, but that is what I want the council to do in the very near future.
“We should be able to conduct CBT examinations, even if it means starting with the objective questions.
“I also want WAEC to be more visible on the international stage. Through the cooperation of the sub-region, I want to see how we can take WAEC overseas.
“This will ensure Nigerian children in the Diaspora can sit for WASSCE overseas. That, again, is what I want WAEC to do in the very near future. That is one thing I wanted to do under my watch.
“But, again like I said, it needs the cooperation of the sub-region, not just Nigeria, to take WASSCE overseas.
“I also want to see the digital certificate that we have successfully launched in Nigeria replicated in the entire sub-region so that any candidate that has taken WASSCE can be in any part of the world to access the digital certificate. That is a legacy.
“For instance, if your certificate gets missing, soaked, or destroyed by fire and so on, with one touch on the button, it appears.”
