The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) says that prospective school candidates without National Identification Number (NIN) will be allowed to write this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The council’s Head of National Office (HNO), Mr Patrick Areghan, gave the assurance at a news conference to announce the release of results of the WASSCE 2021 for Private Candidates Second Series on Monday, 14th February, 2022 in Lagos.
Areghan was speaking against the backdrop of apprehension by some parents, following the recent collapse of the NIMC portal.
He noted that it was commonplace to occasionally experience such challenges with the introduction of new policies, noting that everything would fall in place with time.
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“When the NIMC portal had the challenge, many persons became apprehensive, especially as it fell within the period when candidates were supposed to be registering for the 2022 WASSCE for schools.
“I remember very clearly that before now, we had announced that candidates will not be able to write the WASSCE without the NIN, that is, no NIN, no exam.
“We want to state here that following the recent challenge posed by the NIMC portal, candidates are free to write the examination without presenting their NIN.
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“Those with the NIN card can come along with it to school but nobody is going to be disadvantaged.
“Every Nigerian child will write the examination. Non-possession of the NIN will not debar any child from writing the examination. It should not be a hindrance because we have instructed principals of schools to compile and forward list of prospective candidates without the NIN to the Council.
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“Whenever they provide the NIN, we impute them accordingly in their data,” Areghan stated.
Announcing the result of the WASSCE for Private Candidates 2021 Second Series, the HNO said that a total of 52, 973 candidates registered, with 51,444 of them writing the examination.
He noted that of the total number that sat for the examination, 49,584 representing 96. 38 per cent of them had their results fully processed and released, while 1,860 others, representing 3.62 per cent had a few of their subjects still being processed.
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