WAEC unable to release 2024 WASSCE results due to unpaid government debt

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has expressed concern over the delayed release of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, attributing the setback to financial difficulties.

Speaking in an interview earlier this morning, John Kapi, WAEC's Head of Public Affairs, revealed that the results have not been issued because of outstanding financial obligations to technicians tasked with maintaining essential equipment for the examination process.

“The results are not ready. We issued a statement earlier highlighting some of the challenges we are currently facing. Unfortunately, these challenges persist because we have not been able to secure the necessary funds to address them,” Mr. Kapi stated

At the heart of the issue, Mr Kapi explained, is the breakdown of specialised scanners crucial for marking objective questions in the WASSCE.

These scanners, integral to the grading process, are in urgent need of repairs. However, the technicians responsible for fixing them have halted their services due to an unpaid debt of GH?25 million owed to them by WAEC.

''We needed to repair our scanners because we owe the technicians GH¢25 million and they have withdrawn their services until we make some financial commitments. Private schools pay their fees but the government pays for candidates in public schools, and so until the monies are paid, we are unable to release the results,” Mr. Kapi explained.

Meanwhile, the minority in Parliament has shown concern regarding the issue and has called for the Finance and Education Ministers to be summoned to the House to address the government's outstanding debt to WAEC.

Earlier this month, WAEC released a statement indicating the inability release the 2024 as a result of government’s failure to disburse additional funds from an outstanding debt of GH¢118 million. These funds are crucial for repairing objective scanning machines, which are essential for processing examination results.

The delay in the release of WAEC results carries serious consequences for students, potentially derailing their educational and career plans. Missing university admission deadlines may compel students to postpone their studies or forfeit scholarship opportunities.

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