The West African Examinations Council on Sunday blew hot as it urged holders of its certificates to safeguard the esteemed certificates with utmost care, stressing that the body is not disposed to a reissuance on account of misplacement, fire, flood or theft.
The council’s Head of National Office, Mr. Olu Adenipekun, made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos State.
Adenipekun said the call was imperative as the council has been receiving lots of applications from people for re-issuance of their lost cerficates.
“Let me make it clear that in the real sense of it, our certificates are issued only once, irrespective of who is involved or the circumstance that led to the misplacement, and that remains the truth of the matter.
“We do not issue our West African Senior School Certificates Examination twice.
“But, if we have such cases of theft, fire, flood, and others, as it concerns these certificates, yes, in reaction to our operational environment, we can consider the issuance of an ‘attestation certificate.
“About five years ago, the council, that is, the highest governing body met and took a decision on this, stressing that there is no test body that issues two of its certificates to a single candidate in one examination.
“But, if a candidate should experience such losses through fire, flood or theft and can provide all the necessary proofs required to that effect, that will show such things actually happened to his or her certificate, there are certain steps such candidates are expected to take before approaching the council for further action,” he said.
The WAEC boss stated that after all such processes had been satisfactorily concluded then, the council would only consider the issuance of “Attestation Certificate”.
“It is this certificate that we give out and not re-issuance of another certificate.
“This is what we have been doing for the past five years now.
“We have many Nigerians who have benefitted from this because it is like a replacement of the real certificate.
“These people who have benefitted from this come from all the stratum of the society,” Adenipekun said.
According to him, in an attempt to mitigate cases of certificates loss and protection, the body in Nigeria, four years ago came up with what is known as certificate cover.
He further explained that one of the ways candidates or persons get their esteemed certificates mutilated was through lamination process.
“It has been discovered that quite a large number of people rush off to business centres immediately after collecting their WASSCE certificates, and in an attempt to get them laminated, they are destroyed in the process,” he said.
Adenipekun said that the council’s non-sticky certificate covers were special and protective, even if when deluged in water.
He concluded that these were parts of the latest development the council embarked upon over the years in its sincere effort to serve the interest of the public.