The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has confirmed that the scanning of objective answer sheets for the recently concluded West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will commence tonight.
This follows the successful repair of some critical scanning machines earlier today after the government released GH¢25 million as part of the debt owed.
In an interview on Joy FM‘s Newsnight on Monday, December 23, Mr Kapi noted that the technicians managed to restore functionality to three of the machines needed for the task, enabling the council to begin the process, albeit at a slower pace.
“Some of the machines are not fully operational, but we’ve managed to tweak a few of them, and work will start tonight with the scanning of the objective answer cards. And we have to run slowly because they are not, you know, fully fit as it were,” he disclosed.
“The council is working tirelessly to meet its timelines, even though staff were initially on their Christmas break. The urgency to complete the scanning and ensure results are released has led WAEC to recall some personnel to assist with the process,” he added.
In addition to scanning, he stated that the exam council has engaged examiners to scrutinise scripts of candidates flagged for possible examination malpractice.
While some funds have been received to facilitate ongoing activities, WAEC has emphasised the need for additional financial support to complete all aspects of the results processing.
“Critical expenses include the repair of additional machines, payment of invigilators and supervisors, and procurement of a larger bandwidth for uploading the results online.
“We’ve received assurances from the government that more funds will be released soon. However, if this doesn’t happen, we may face delays,” he cautioned.