MONROVIA, Montserrado – The national head of the West African Examinations Council in Liberia, John Y. Gayvolor, has blamed journalists for the mass failures of candidates in the recent senior high school exams.
Statistics released last week by WAEC on the Liberia Senior High School Certificate Exams show that out of the 46,613 students who sat the exams, 22,671 candidates failed, representing 49 percent of the population who sat for the test.
Only 34 percent passed, with the remaining 17 percent of the results withheld for collusion and other exam irregularities. The percentage of results withheld is a steep increase from previous years – only 3.82 and 1.23 percents in 2014 and 2013, respectively.
The Ministry of Education requires high school students to pass the tests to graduate. Additionally, most employers require applicants to submit their WAEC certificates. The US Embassy also requires diversity visa applicants to show proof of having passed the test.
The exams test students in various subjects including mathematics, physics, economics, chemistry, English, English literature, geography, history, and biology.
While the results are a result of poor performance on the part of the students, Gayvolor has blamed journalists for contributing to the mass failures.
Gayvolor said the exams, which were initially scheduled for May 24, were canceled because individuals had stolen copies of the tests from the Konola Seven Day Adventist high school campus, where they were being kept.
WAEC then rescheduled the exams to begin on June 27. According to Gayvolor, when the exams were reprinted in Ghana and brought back into the country, some journalists began reporting that the exams were the same as those that were stolen because they were labeled as ‘May Exams.’
Gayvolor concluded, based on the answers provided on test materials, that students were misled by journalists and answered based on the information from the stolen tests, resulting in the mass failures.
He said the exams are always referred to as the ‘May Exams,’ “whether it is administered to candidates in December of any year.
Featured photo by Zeze Ballah
