The 72nd Annual Council Meeting of The West African Examinations Council has ended in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown with the election by acclamation of Prof. Thomas Brima Rick Yormah, former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Fourah Bay College and former Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Sierra Leone as the 21st Chairman of Council.

He succeeds Prof. Ato Essuman from the Republic of Ghana. While the Chief Government Nominee of Sierra Leone on Council Prof. Yatta Kanu, was elected as Vice Chairman of Council for a one-year tenure. She succeeds Dr. Ebrima Sisawo of the Republic of The Gambia.

The meeting which was held from Monday 18th to Friday 22nd March 2024, was declared open by the Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio, who was ably represented by the Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh.

In his keynote address, the President congratulated WAEC on its 72nd anniversary and averred that the Council is ranked among the leading forces that have changed and shaped the educational focus of the sub-region. He noted that the Council had played a prominent role in the educational development of the sub-region over the past 72 years and had indeed served as a catalyst for the educational reforms that have evolved in the member countries.

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The President stated further that the survival and growth of the Council up to its present stature could be attributed principally to the support given by the governments of the five-member countries coupled with the commitment and dedication of the Council Members and staff, both past and present. He added that WAEC had served as a beacon of excellence to promote sub-regional cooperation and is the only pre-independence organization that had survived the test of time. And pledged that his government is committed to sub-regional and regional cooperation and will always consider WAEC as a blueprint in the pursuit of the desire for greater and more functional regional collaboration.

In his speech, the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Sierra Leone, Hon. Conrad Sackey, noted that since its inception in 1952, the Council has played its role creditably by assisting in the development of sound education and ensuring the maintenance of educational standards. This, he said, has given the people of the sub-region a vision of the great potentials that lie beyond examinations. He congratulated WAEC for having remained relevant for over seven decades and still counting and urged all stakeholders to rally the Council and stamp out examination malpractice in public examinations in the member countries.

Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr (OBE), who was ably represented by the Deputy Mayor, Kweku Melvin Lisk, Esq, commended the Council for its achievements in the seventy-two years of its existence and called for greater collaboration between the Freetown City Council and WAEC in their efforts at improving students’ performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

At the formal opening of the meeting, the Council honored three Ghanaian candidates with the WAEC International Excellence Award for their outstanding performance in the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2023. They were Master Amo-Kodich Leonard Kofi, (Ist Prize), Master Dzandu Selorm, (2nd Prize), and Master Asenso-Gyambibi Daniel (3rd Prize). The three candidates were selected from 2,327,342 who sat the examination in The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
The Augustus Bandele Oyediran Award for the Best Candidate in West Africa, 2023 also went to Master Amo-Kodieh Leonard Kofi.

In addition, two candidates from the Republic of Sierra Leone were honored with the National Distinction, while one candidate received the National Merit Award. They were Miss. Mammah E. A. Raymonda, (1st Prize), Master Bangura Joshua, (2nd Prize), and Master Fillie Sahr Edward (Merit Award).

On the same August occasion, the prestigious award of Distinguished Friend of Council was conferred on an eminent citizen of Sierra Leone – Prof. Jonas A. S. Redwood-Sawyerr – for his outstanding contributions towards the achievement of the Council’s objectives. The Council, which is WAEC’s governing board, holds its meeting yearly in rotation among the five member countries, namely: The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

The 71st Meeting was hosted in Banjul, in 2023 by the Government of the Republic of The Gambia, and by the invitation of Liberia’s delegation, the 73rd edition will be hosted by the Government of Liberia in March 2025.

The meeting which lasted for a week, was attended by delegates from all the member countries. They included nominees of the governments, representatives of ministries/departments of education, universities, secondary schools, and other interest groups. The meeting began with the 29th in the series of the Council’s Annual Endowment Fund Lectures entitled, “Moving Towards the Light: Revisioning Higher
Education”, delivered by the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone Professor Miriam Elizabeth Conteh-Morgan.

During the meeting, the Council received reports on WAEC’s operations in the preceding year as well as information on educational programs and developments in the five member countries. The council also ratified the decisions of its various committees taken in the previous year and considered action points from the national offices that can strategically position them to meet the yearnings and aspirations of stakeholders in their respective domains. Council received with acclamation the Registrar’s Annual Report for the Period April 2023 to March 2024 and a report from the Research Department of WAEC and stressed the need for more collaboration in the dissemination of the research reports so that policymakers can be availed with information necessary for the improvement of education in the sub-region.

The Council appreciated the Chief Government Nominees for their reports and commended the respective governments for the various educational initiatives they have embarked upon which if well-funded and sustained would be of great benefit to the African child.

At the end of the week-long meeting, the Chairman of the Council, Prof. Ato Essuman, gave kudos to the governments of member countries and officers of the various Ministries of Education for maintaining strong ties with the national offices of WAEC. He assured them all that his brief sojourn in the Council during which he had the opportunity of collaborating with them to render service to the people of the West African sub-region will remain a vital part of his life history. He added that their collective dedication and commitment have been instrumental in the continuous success of WAEC,and that he was deeply grateful for that.