WAEC appoints new head for Nigeria

WAEC appoints new head for Nigeria

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has appointed Amos Dangut as the Head of the Nigeria National Office, succeeding Patrick Areghan who served since 2020.

Until his appointment, Mr Dangut was the Deputy Registrar/HNO’s Office of the council.

According to a statement signed by Moyosola Adesina, the acting head of Public Affairs at WAEC. Mr Dangut joined the services of the examination council in 1998 as an Assistant Registrar (AR) II.

The statement added that he rose through the ranks to become a Deputy Registrar in April 2018 and he won the Nigeria Examinations Committee’s (NEC) commendation for transparent conduct of examination between 2000 and 2006.

Mr Areghan had hinted at his retirement and exit from the examination body in August at the announcement of results of the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.

More about Dangut

Born 2 October 1967 in Mbar District of Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau State, Mr Dangut, according to the statement attended Government Secondary School, Riyom (1981 to 1983) and Government Science School, Kuru (1983 to 1986), where he obtained his WASC/SC in 1986), both in Plateau State.

Mr Dangut proceeded to the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, where he bagged the award of Bachelor of Agriculture in Animal Production in 1991.

He also proceeded to undertake some studies leading to the awards of Master’s of Science in Animal Science in April 1994 from the prestigious University of Ibadan; Doctor of Philosophy (Animal Science, 2017), from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.

He bagged a Master’s of Education (Administration and Planning) in 2020 from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

At WAEC, Mr Dangut served in different capacities from the Assistant Registrar to Deputy Registrar in different departments across the council’s zonal offices.

For the past 25 years, he has leveraged Information and Communications Technology to innovatively improve processes in Test Development, Test Administration and Post Test Activities.

Mr Dangut has also presented numerous keynotes and other papers at international and national conferences/fora and is an active member of the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) and the Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM).

According to the profile of Mr Areghan on the official WAEC website, he joined the council as an Assistant Registrar II in October 1989 and rose through the ranks to become a Senior Deputy Registrar in April 2018.

Before he assumed office as the Head of the Nigeria National Office on 5 March 2020, he served in various examination and administrative capacities, including as the Head of the Test Administration Division of WAEC Nigeria.

He served as WAEC Zonal Coordinator, Abuja and Port Harcourt Zonal Offices between 2013 and 2016.

In August, at the announcement of the 2023 WASSCE results, Mr Areghan highlighted some achievements recorded in WAEC under his stewardship as the HNO, which includes the launch of a digital certificate.

Under his leadership, the council also launched the Educational Statistics (EDUSTAT) platform that enables stakeholders to access statistics online; a functional WAEC Nigeria Digital Printing Press (WNDPP) after 71 years of existence; and other digital platforms.

About WAEC

WAEC is West Africa’s foremost examining board established by law in 1952 to determine the examinations required in the public interest in English-speaking West African countries.

The council conducts examinations and awards certificates of comparable standard to those of similar examining authorities, worldwide.

Apart from Nigeria, the council serves the following Anglophonic countries of West Africa: Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Gambia.

The council conducts international and national examinations, and examinations are conducted in collaboration with other examining bodies or on behalf of other examining bodies.