By Magnus Emuji
Delta State Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs Rose Ezewu has reiterated the determination of the state government in articulating effective measures towards ensuring good performance of secondary school students in all external examinations.
Mrs Ezewu gave the assurance in Asaba in a keynote address to declare open the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) State Committee meeting.
The Secondary Education Commissioner who was represented at the meeting by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Augustine Ede Oghoro, said that the forum provided the stakeholders with the opportunity to review the conduct of the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates in Delta State to approve the performance of candidates and fashion out ways to ensure the conduct of credible examinations in the future.
Mrs Ezewu, however, informed the council that the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education would continue to open its doors to assist the council in achieving the collective goal of providing the Nigerian child with standard educational assessment.
She expressed worry over the performance assessment of the candidates with five credits and above including English language and Mathematics over the years, adding that the performance had fluctuated between 40% and 60% despite the availability of qualified teachers with adequate resources for effective teaching and learning in the state.
Mrs Ezewu noted that the government of Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa had continued to invest in the education sector with a view to improving the teaching and learning environment in schools as a deliberate strategy to promote quality education.
Earlier in a welcome address, the Director of Examination and Standard in the Delta State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Sunday Egomaguna, lauded the council for the successful conduct of the examination despite the fact that it was shifted forward due to the Covid-19 pandemic whereby the examination was not written earlier according to the specified time.
Mr Egomaguna said that the purpose of the examination was for certification of achievements, selection for educational and employment opportunities, quality control of the curriculum and its delivery and monitoring of educational standards as well as the assessment of candidates effectiveness.
He stated that the ministry was irrevocably committed to ensuring that it tackled the menace of examination malpractice through the establishment of the State Examinations Ethics and Disciplinary Committee (EEDC) as well as regular monitoring of examinations in the state.
The representative of the Head of National Office of WAEC, Lagos, Mrs Danjuma T. underscored the importance of the WAEC State Committee meeting, adding that the outcome of the deliberation, suggestions, comments and recommendations would be taken to the National Examination Committee for further action and implementation.
She said that Delta was one of the states that had performed well in the area of checkmating examination malpractice, even as she berated supervisors for cases of leakage of papers.
