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The Nigerian society and the world at large places so much importance on education. Honestly, to become successful in life, you need some level of education to help broaden your sense of reasoning. However, if you decide to study further by deciding to attend a university, there are hurdles you need to overcome before you can be giving admission to study your desired course.
Thanks to our private and public school teachers, they are putting in the effort to make sure students are well-taught so that they can do well in both external and internal examination. However, even with the effort put in by teachers, students still fail WAEC and struggle to gain admission into the university.
For you to be considered for admission into any Nigerian university, you need at least 5 credit passes including maths and English language. So does it mean that once you fail WAEC that's the end of the road for you in gaining admittance into a higher institution? Not at all!
No doubt, the secondary school is one of the most vital education that prepares students for what's ahead and to shapen students to become a career person. Just like the BECE (Basic Education Certificate Examination) that is required for candidates to be offered admission into secondary schools, so also is the WASSCE (West African Senior School Certificate Examination) required by secondary students to be admitted into the university.
In this article, our focus will not be on BECE but WASSCE - how can you resit your WAEC? Superprof has put together some vital information on what candidates need to know about WASSCE examination.
Read more on the complete guide to resitting your WAEC.
How Does WAEC Grading System Work
At one point in time, all students in Nigeria have written WAEC. Therefore, the name should not be new to anyone in Nigeria. WAEC is an acronym for the West Africa Examination Council. WAEC is not meant for Nigerians alone (Ghana, Liberia - Monrovia, and other west African countries also write the exams), it is a West African examination council that tests the knowledge of students to be sure they are qualified to move to the next phase of education. Just like the senior WAEC, there is also junior WAEC that is needed to be written by junior secondary school students to transition into the senior section of secondary school.
Nonetheless, even with millions of candidates writing WACE every year and the rave it generates among students, only a handful understand how the grading system works and what score is required to get a credit or distinction in any subject. We shall be showing you the various grade points in WAEC and interpret everything to you so that you understand how it works in order for you to put in the required effort to get at least a credit pass, which is enough to secure your admission into the university.
WAEC grading system
75% - 100% - A1 = Excellent
70% - 74% - B2 = Very good
65% - 69% - B3 = Good
60% - 64% - C4 = Credit
55% - 59% - C5 = Credit
50% - 54% - C6 = Credit
45% - 49% - D7 = Pass
40% - 45% - E8 = Pass
0% - 39% - F9 = Fail
From the grade point above, you can see that you need at least 75% to be able to get A1 in any subject. Also, unlike most internal examinations that has a cut-off pass mark of 50%, you can get a pass in WAEC with a score of just 40%. However, your target should not be on getting a pass (40% - 49%) because it won't be enough to secure your admission into tertiary schools.
One is thought to have done well enough to be considered for tertiary admission if he gets at least 5 credit passes in 5 of the subjects offered including mathematics and English Language. If you are a science student, you need at least credit passes in physics, chemistry, and biology in addition to maths and English. If you are a commercial student, you need credit passes in subjects like economics, commerce, government, etc.
After writing your WAEC, the examination council assign your scripts to external markers from all over the country to mark your scripts. Once that is done, everything is compiled and posted on their website so that students that can know how they perform. While every student's desire is to write WAEC once and for all, that is not always the case because some students may have to take the exam again due to poor grades or grades not good enough to compete with other candidates. So what next if you failed WAEC?
Writing WAEC Again
While it is the desire of every student to write WAEC once, it always turns out that some set of students may have to write the exams again if they truly want to further their education. You do not need to see yourself as a failure if you write WAEC and could not make the number of required credit passes needed to secure tertiary admission. Instead, see it as a challenge and put in extra effort and you'd be surprised how excellent you will perform in the examination the second time.
I have seen a guy who did WAEC registration and wrote the exam 4 times until he got the desired grades he was looking for and he is now studying medicine & surgery in one of the top universities in Nigeria. Even if you are not interested in furthering your education, having a good WASSCE can help you secure a job that requires a secondary school certificate.
How can you resit your WAEC? There are different private centres where students can register and write WAEC. There is even a private one called GCE you can write in private centres. The GCE is majorly for those who have left the secondary school for some time but are now looking forward to writing WAEC. The GCE is usually written around November of every year.
Since you are planning to write the exams for the second time, you need to put in every effort to get the best scores possible. After registering for examinations, it is advisable to look for private classes that have qualified teachers to help you in areas you are struggling with. This would help strengthen your weaknesses and boost your performance in the exam. At Superprof, there are professional teachers that are specialized in helping students pass their examinations in flying colours. Learning can be done either online or on-site.
Why do you need to resit for WAEC?
- Certificate examinations like WAEC and NECo are the only gateway to securing admission into the university. If you desire to attend a university, polytechnic or college, you must do well in WASSCE.
- Passing your WAEC prepares you for a better future ahead. If you desire to become an engineer, doctor, lawyer, accountant or any other professional career, you need to first pass your secondary examination so that you can stand a chance of gaining admission to the university.
- A good WASSE can get you a job that has a secondary school certificate as the requirement. Even if you don't want a degree certificate, you can use your secondary school cert to get a job either in a public or private sector.
These are some of the reasons why you need to write and pass your secondary school exam.
Tips to help you pass your WAEC in Flying colours
Whether it is your first WAEC exam or you are planning to retake the exam, there are things you need to put in place in order to be successful in the exam. Subjects like physics, mathematics, chemistry, etc. need adequate study if you want to come out with good grades and boost your chance of securing admission to the university.
Below are some of the best tips that will help you perform excellently in your WAEC.
Have your own study plan: Once you get the syllabus for each subject, draw out your own study plan or timetable that will help you cover all the subjects needed to be studied before the exam. having just a random plan won't help you to focus because you may get confused about which subject to study on a particular day.
Get a quiet place to study: With so many distractions everywhere in Nigeria, most students find it difficult to concentrate on their studies. If you must read and understand well, you need to allocate a quiet place for yourself where you spend some time to read your books. Subjects like physics and mathematics that have calculations don't need any form of distraction.
Keep fighting: No matter how boring it may be at first, do not give up studying. The results for hard work is always sweet if only you can keep on fighting till the end. If you have the dream of becoming a professional in a certain field, never get discouraged because your first WAEC results were not good enough. Study harder, resit for the exam and you will surely excel. You can get past questions and study with them.
To round up this article, let's re-ask the question, "how can you resit your WAEC?" There are private centres all around the country that accepts candidates to register and write WASSCE. So, if you did not do well in your first try, there are opportunities for you to resit for the exam again. Get a teacher on Superprof today to prepare you for your examinations either online or face-to-face learning. You'll be amazed by the result you will get when you use a tutor on Superprof.
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Very helpful, thanks
Good piece! Thanks.