President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday urged the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to continue to adhere to the values of excellence, integrity and transparency that the examination body is known for.
The President stated this in a message to celebrate the 70th anniversary of WAEC, which also coincided with the 70th annual council meeting being hosted in Abuja, Nigeria from March 14 to 18.
President Buhari observed that as a proud founding member of the foremost examining board for the people of West Africa, Nigeria values the shared commitment with other members of the council and would continue to engage with other partners to achieve the council’s mandate of maintaining quality educational standards that prepare the next generation to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
The President noted that for the last 70 years, the West African examination body has brought the English-speaking West Africans together to encourage academic and moral excellence through qualitative and reliable educational assessment.
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“As delegates to the 70th council meeting deliberate, reflect and celebrate the gains of the decades, the Nigerian leader urges them to remember the core values of excellence, integrity, professionalism, accountability and transparency, at the heart of WAEC, and stand firmly by them.”
The President believed that just as member-nations have survived a difficult year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and in some countries, previous years of internal conflict, “this cherished education institution would continue to thrive as a world-class examination body.”
The West African Examinations Council is established by law in 1952 to determine the examinations required in the public interest in the English-speaking West African countries.
The examination body conducts examinations and awards certificates comparable to those of equivalent examining authorities internationally.
It has also been at the forefront of promoting regional integration through positive relationship among the five-member countries and their staff.
