West African Examinations Council (WAEC) says it is set for the conduct of its newly introduced January/February West African Senior School certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates.

The council’s Head, National Office (HNO), Mr Olu Adenipekun, said this in an interview on Saturday in Lagos.

With the development, the first series of the examination for private candidates would be holding in January/February, while the second series would hold in the second half of the year.

According to Adenipekun, the January/February examination, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria, will take place in major cities across the country this year from January 29 to February 12.

“We are fully ready to go. This examination is the first of its kind in the country for private candidates only, and is to be administered for now only in major cities and towns.

“The result of this examination might likely be released within 30 days, and once we are able to do that, then we will be free to go into the main examination, which will now be the conduct of the May/June WASSCE for school candidates.

“After this, we then also have the opportunity to prepare for the conduct of the second series of the WASSCE for private candidates in August, popularly known as November/December WASSCE.

“So, in a nutshell, we are fully prepared to win over the confidence of the general public, especially Nigerian children, to the fact that they have an examination body that is ready and prepared to meet their academic needs,’’ he said.

Adenipekun said the new arrangement was to ensure that those who are unable to pass were given the opportunity to get better prepared and try again.

He said that efforts had been stepped up in the area of computer and application of hardware for the council’s operation, to impact the activities of the organisation positively.

According to the HNO, council seeks to continually improve on its operation in the new year in order to be able to conduct leakage-free as well as credible examinations and release results promptly.

The council’s Head, Test Development Division, (TDD), Mrs Frances Iweha-Onukwu, said some 12,000 candidates had registered and were expected to sit for the examination across the various centres in the country.

“For the fact that such number of candidates registered for this first series of the examination is a positive sign for the council.

“We only need more sensitisation and awareness for subsequent outings.

“I am sure that with time, more candidates will key in, and I know with time, it is going to get better,’’ she said.

NAN