The West African Examinations Council’s (WAEC) Public Relations Officer (PRO) has been directed by the Ministry of Education (MoE) to conduct an internal fact-check before issuing statements that could unintentionally mislead the public or reflect poorly on the Ministry’s work.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the minister of education, informed reporters that the 2024 WASSCE results would be made public by December 29 following a quick tour of the WAEC premises on Tuesday.
He stated that WAEC was trying to ensure the results were published on time and was finalizing the marking procedure.
However, WAEC rejected the assertion, stating that the Minister’s pledge that GHc25 million had been released to the Council for its operational activities and that the results would be made public by December 29, 2024, was inaccurate.
Head of Public Relations, WAEC, John Kapi told Graphic that “Without any formal meeting with the management team of WAEC, he addressed the media present, giving them assurances that results would be released by December 29. We wish to state that apart from a cheque for GH25 million that was issued on December 18, no further releases out of the outstanding GHS118 million have been made.
“The Council awaits the release of the additional GHc35 million it has requested from the Ministry of Education to enable it to fix the broken-down scanners, conclude scanning of the objective test answer cards, and then process the results.”
In a statement released on Thursday, December 26, the Education Ministry stated that WAEC officially acknowledged receipt of the payment for GHS 25,000,000 in a letter dated December 20, 2024, signed by the Head of the National Office of WAEC (Ref. No. HNO/GES/MOE/VOL.28/156).
“This payment represents part of the Ministry’s financial commitment towards the 2024 WASSCE (School Candidates) examination fees,” it added.
Following this, the Ministry said WAEC requested an additional GHS 35,000,000 to facilitate the processing of the 2024 WASSCE results, which it honoured and has since released funds to WAEC.
“It is therefore surprising to note that the WAEC PRO has publicly denied the receipt of the GHS 25,000,000 payment, despite official documentation confirming its acknowledgement,” it added.
The Education Ministry stated that remarks of this kind should be supported by confirmed facts; therefore, the WAEC PRO should check facts internally before making statements that could unintentionally mislead the public or reflect poorly on the Ministry’s work.
“For emphasis sake, it is important to highlight that, from July 2024 to date, the Ministry has disbursed a total of GHS 167,976,815 to WAEC, in fulfilment of its financial obligations to the Council. We urge the public to remain calm as we work closely with WAEC to ensure the release of the 2024 WASSCE results,” it added.
Source: Citinewsroom.com