*l-r: Prof. (Nana) Appiagyei Dankawoso I, the Non-Council Member representing Ghana on the Board of Trustees of the WAEC Endowment Fund; Dr. Clement Apaak, the Deputy Minister of Education, Ghana; the Vice President of Ghana; the Chairman of Council, Prof. Thomas B. R. Yormah; the Registrar of WAEC, Alhaji Pateh Bah; the CGNs of Liberia, Ghana and The Gambia
By Onuora Aninwobodo
The 74th Annual Council Meeting of The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has ended in Accra, Ghana, with the election of Ghana’s Chief Government Nominee on Council, Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, as Vice Chairman for a one-year tenure. He succeeds Amos Armah Fully of Liberia.
The meeting, which was held from Tuesday, 24th to Saturday, 28th March 2026,
was declared open by President John Dramani Mahama of the Republic of Ghana, who was
represented by Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana.
President Mahama congratulated WAEC on its 74th anniversary and stated that the government and people of Ghana are deeply
honoured to host the 74th Annual Meeting of the West African Examinations Council. He also commended the member governments of WAEC for their efforts to sustain this great institution and lend credibility to their assessment efforts.
Mahama stated that his government will continue to collaborate with other member
governments to provide the necessary support to build strong structures and enhance operational efficiency and sustainability.
He noted that WAEC has remained, for MORE than seven decades, one of the most successful examples of regional collaboration on the African continent.
As an assessment body, the Council has made significant strides in upholding educational standards through credible examinations, he said, adding that countless citizens of the West African Sub-region, holding enviable positions, are products of the rigorous and trusted systems that WAEC have put in place.
The President commended the Council for the innovative mechanisms put in place to maintain fairness, transparency, and integrity in its examination process.
He, however, stressed that the surge in examination malpractice threatens to erode these enviable goals. He warned that if care is not taken, the Council risks losing its credibility to these fraudsters.
He also called on all people who have truth, honesty, and integrity as their core values to collectively defend the credibility of the Council’s examinations by saying no to malpractice and yes to integrity.
The Minister of Education, Ghana, Haruna Iddrisu, who was represented by the Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Clement A. Apaak, acknowledged the critical role examinations play, not only as a means of screening candidates for further educational advancement, but more importantly, as an instrument for honing the intellectual and practical skills that are essential for developing the human capital required to drive the service and productive sectors of member states’ economies.
He also acknowledged that the international version of WASSCE conducted by WAEC has more inclination towards credibility, comparability, regional collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the impact on students’ competitiveness within the sub-region
and therefore, in accordance with the President of Ghana’s directives, the Ministry of Education has reinstated Ghana’s participation in the international version of WAEC’s WASSCE for School Candidates, beginning with the 2026 diet, alongside other member countries.
At the formal opening of the meeting, Council honoured three Ghanaian candidates with the WAEC International Excellence Award for their outstanding performance in WASSCE for School Candidates, 2025. They were Miss Huda Suglo Suleman (1st Prize), Miss Paula Adzo Elinam Suwo (2nd Prize), and Miss Matthea Aba Andoh (3rd Prize). The three candidates were selected from 2,612,830 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, 2025, also went to Miss Huda Suglo Suleman.
On the same August occasion, the prestigious award of Distinguished Friend of Council was conferred on an eminent citizen of Ghana – Professor William Afiakwa Asomaning – for his immeasurable contributions towards the achievement of the Council’s objectives.
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 73rd Meeting was hosted in Monrovia in 2025 by the Government of the Republic of Liberia, and, at the invitation of Nigeria’s delegation, the 75th edition will be hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria in March 2027.
The meeting, which lasted for a week, was attended by delegates from all the member countries.
