While these issues have raised concerns, one particular criticism that has garnered significant attention is the council’s frequent mistakes in students’ names and dates of birth.
Over the past four years, numerous cases have come to light where WAEC has incorrectly recorded student information on their results. Despite acknowledging these errors, the council has consistently refused to rectify them, causing significant inconvenience and hardship for affected students.
Dominic Kamar, a student who sat the WAEC exams in 2023 at Goshen Secondary School, is a prime example of this issue. His name and date of birth were mistakenly recorded as Mustapha Conteh and July 19, 1998. Despite repeated attempts to have the errors corrected, WAEC has remained adamant in its refusal to do so.
The consequences of these mistakes can be severe, particularly in countries like Sierra Leone where retaking exams can be a significant financial burden. Students who are forced to resit exams due to WAEC’s errors face wasted time and additional expenses, which can have a detrimental impact on their educational and career prospects.
It is imperative that WAEC take immediate steps to address these issues and implement measures to prevent such errors from occurring in the future. By rectifying mistakes and improving its processes, WAEC can restore public confidence and ensure that students are not unfairly disadvantaged by its shortcomings.
ABJ/APA