The Ghana office of the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), would host this year’s 33rd Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA).
The conference, scheduled to take place from August 24 to 28 in Accra, would provide a forum for innovative and research-based ideas on examination and assessment by scholars and practitioners from Africa and other parts of the world.
About 300 participants from Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, Europe and America would be participating in the conference, which has the theme, “Quality assurance in educational assessment in an era of rapid change.”
Reverend Sam Nii Nmai Ollennu, Head of National Office of WAEC, explained in an interview that the association was established to promote cooperation amongst examining and assessing bodies in Africa, adding that the hosting of the annual conference rotates among member countries.
WAEC is a member of five West African countries comprising Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gambia.
Rev Ollennu noted that for quality assurance to be achieved, there was the need to explore how to combat threats to the integrity of examinations, especially in an era of rapid change driven by technology and globalisation.
He said one of the sub-themes, “Combating threats to the integrity of examinations,” was critical because, it reinforces the Council’s commitment to put in place effective structures to maintain the integrity of its examinations.
Rev Ollennu emphasised that the Council would not shield any staff found culpable of irregularity that mars the reputation of the Council and its examination.
He said addressing examination threats involved a collaborative effort and appealed to stakeholders to come on board to effectively resolve these menace.
Dr Iyi Uwadiae, Registrar to the Council for WAEC, said the council would continue to uphold its tenet of excellence to ensure that examinations were organised professionally.
He noted that the council had sponsored its staff to participate in international conferences to learn and share experiences for the best practices in dealing with examination challenges.
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