Verify facts before making misleading statements – MoE to WAEC PRO
The Ministry of Education (MoE) has asked the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to verify facts internally before making pronouncements that may inadvertently mislead the public or cast aspersions on the Ministry’s efforts.
Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum told journalists after a brief visit to the WAEC offices on Tuesday that the results of the 2024 WASSCE would be released by December 29.
According to him, WAEC was finalising the marking process and working to ensure the results were published on time.
However, WAEC dismissed the claim, indicating that the assurance by the Minister that there had been an additional release of GHc25 million to the Council for its operational activities and that it had assured that results would be released before or by December 29, 2024, was not accurate.
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.”
The Education Ministry therefore clarified in a statement issued on Thursday, December 26, that 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), WAEC formally acknowledged receipt of a cheque for GHS 25,000,000.
“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 noted that public statements of this nature should be based on verified information, for which reason the WAEC PRO should verify facts internally before making pronouncements that may inadvertently mislead the public or cast aspersions on the Ministry’s efforts.
“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.