WAEC subject combination for science, arts and commercial students
Every year, hundreds of thousands of students sit for the WAEC examination, in over 12,000 schools or examination centres nationwide. These students register their preferred subjects’ combination with WAEC, and never exceed the WAEC subject combination threshold of 9 subjects.
In 2022, a total of 1,274,784 students sat for the WAEC examination. This number of WAEC candidates contains students from three subject areas. The subject areas are:
- Science
- Art
- Commercial
These three subject areas have WAEC subject combinations that are peculiar to each of them.
It’s important that the subjects that are mandatory to every WAEC candidate, irrespective of their subject area, those subjects are 3 in number and they are:
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Civic Education
It’s important that every WAEC examination aspirant knows this, and also know that to be a successful student in WAEC, a candidate must have at least a credit in these three general subjects, most especially English language and mathematics.
So, we will talk about the WAEC subject combination for these important subsets of the WAEC student population.
WAEC subject combination for science students
The WAEC subject combination for science students is just subjects that are specifically offered by science students, and most of these subjects for science students are characterized by a practical examination session.
This means that in addition to the regular theory and objective sections that every other subject in WAEC has, science subjects feature practicals i.e examinations where students are required to work with live specimens. This type of examination is usually carried out in the laboratory.
There is an exception for schools who doesn’t have a working laboratory or the necessary equipment to have a practical session. An alternative to practical session is organized for them.
An alternative to practical is a practical examination session where live specimens and laboratory equipment are not used in the examination, rather the practicals are done theoretically, that is, the practical is done on paper.
Going forward, the WAEC subject combination for science students includes the following subjects.
- English language
- Mathematics
- Civic Education
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Geography
- Agricultural Science
- Economics
- A Trade Subject
There are other subjects that science students can add to their list of compulsory subjects, they include:
- Further Mathematics
- Languages- Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa
- Technical Drawing
WAEC combination for art students
The subject combination for art students is quite different from that of a science student, even though there are cases where art and science students may register subjects such as economics, biology, agricultural science, etc.
The WAEC subject combination for art students includes:
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Civic Education
- Literature in English
- Government or History
- Religious Studies: Christian Religious Studies or Islamic Religious Studies
- Languages: Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa
- Economics
- A Trade Subject
These are not the only subjects available for art students, others include:
- Arabic Studies
- Agricultural Science/Biology
- French
- Music
- Commerce
WAEC subject combination for commercial students
A commercial student is a student trained to study courses related to management skills, business know-how, economy, etc. In secondary school, for courses such as Economics, Commerce, Account, Book Keeping, Marketing, Insurance, etc.
So this is the final subset of the student population who sit for the WAEC examination every year.
The WAEC subject combination for commercial students includes:
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Civic Education
- Economics
- Accounting
- Commerce
- Government
- Office Practice
- A Trade Subject
Other elective subjects available to Commercial students include:
- Further Mathematics
- Book Keeping
- Agricultural Science or Biology
- Languages: Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa
NB: There are some subjects that are neither compulsory for any subject area, but they are available to be chosen by any interested candidate. Examples of such subjects include Economics, Languages (Hausa, Igbo, or Yoruba), Agricultural Science, Biology, etc
WAEC Trade subjects
These are subjects that were introduced by WAEC to expose students to skill acquisition and the entrepreneurial world. Some trade subjects involve practical sessions, while others don’t. Every WAEC candidate is mandated to sit for at least one trade subject.
There are 35 trade subjects in WAEC, and they are:
- Animal husbandry
- Auto body repairs
- Auto mechanic
- Auto electrical work
- Automobile parts merchandising
- Block laying, bricklaying, and concreting work
- Bookkeeping
- Carpentry and joinery
- Catering craft practice
- Data processing
- Dyeing and bleaching
- Plumbing and pipe fitting
- Printing craft practice
- Radio, television, and electronics
- Salesmanship
- Stenography
- Tourism
- Upholstery
- Welding and fabrication engineering craft practice
- Marketing
- Metalwork
- Mining
- Painting and decorating
- Photography
- Plumbing craft practice
- Printing craft practice
- Leather goods manufacturing and repairs
- Insurance
- Machine Woodworking
- GSM phone maintenance and repair
- Garment making
- Furniture making
- Fisheries
- Shorthand
- Keyboarding
Other Subject combinations in WAEC
9 subjects for social science students in WAEC
9 subjects for computer science students in WAEC
Frequently asked questions about WAEC subject combinations
Is it a must to register a trade subject in WAEC?
Yes. WAEC mandated that every WAEC candidate must sit for at least one trade subject in WAEC. This directive is the same for every candidate irrespective of their subject area.Â
Can I write 8 subjects in WAEC?
Yes. Every student who wishes to register for 8 subjects in WAEC is free to do so. But students who intend to do that should bear in mind that they must register for the compulsory WAEC subjects, even if they are not registering for the maximum number of subjects allowed in WAEC.
Is biology a compulsory subject in WAEC?
Biology is an optional subject. Not every science student may sit for biology, as some science disciplines don’t prioritize the knowledge of biology. This also shows as art and commercial students may register for WAEC based on their preference, students may choose to replace it with another subject of their choice.
The WAEC subject combination for the three subject areas is the full package of the WAEC examination for every year, as students from the three subject areas make up the entire population that registers for WAEC annually.
The WAEC subject combination shows some specializations in some parts, in the case of physics and chemistry for science students, commerce for commercial students, and literature in English for art students.
Some WAEC subjects combination show some overlapping interest from students across the three subject areas, those subjects include agricultural science, economics, and biology. These subjects attract patronage from students from every subject area.
The WAEC subject combination for each student communicates the student’s area of interest in academics, and preferred skill (which can be shown through a student’s choice of trade subject).
Making choices of subject combination to be registered in WAEC is one of the earliest and most important decisions that a secondary school student will have to make, as it will guide most of his academic choices.
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