Parents and private school owners in the country have expressed shock over the Federal Government’s announcement, pulling out all the SS3 students in all the 104 federal government colleges nationwide from participating in the forthcoming West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, announced the cancellation of the examination which is being conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). He also advised WAEC and various state governments to forget the examination for now.
They said the development was contrary to their joint agreement at the education stakeholders’meetings with both the Federal and various state government representatives led by the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, as well as the representatives of WAEC, National Examinations Council (NECO) and the National Board of Technical Education (NABTE) in attendance.
They said all of them were in support of WAEC to go ahead in conducting the examination and that was why the minister of state for education announced the schedules even before WAEC gave details on Tuesday.
The National President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Otunba Yomi Otubela, and the National President of Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NPTAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, disclose this in separate interviews with newsmen on Wednesday’s night.
They said, though, they were still not clear about the news and the reasons for government’s U-turn, they were shocked and confused by the development.
NAPPS boss, who said a majority of private schools had invested hugely in the last few days to make their schools safe and ready for the external examination, explained that the last stakeholders’ meeting of Tuesday where all the guidelines and protocols towards having a hitch-free examination were discussed extensively and conclusions were made on adherence.
The meeting which was chaired by the minister of state for education also had the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education and majority of state commissioners for education, representatives of WAEC, NECO, NABTE and NAPPS, among others in attendance.
“And nothing suggested to any of us that the exam would not hold,” he stressed.
“And I have put a call to the Federal Ministry of Education as regards the latest news but it seemed none of them is ready to confirm the news. They said there was no memo issued to them in that regard till the close of work on Wednesday.
“So, I still want to believe that until tomorrow when the true position is made clear to everybody before we make our own position too, but at the moment, I’m still in a shock.”
Speaking in the same vein, Danjuma said NPTAN as an umbrella body of parents and teachers had about three weeks ago at a virtual education stakeholders’ meeting with relevant government representatives and examination bodies, pledged their support to ensure their children have requirements to have a hitch-free examination.
“So, this latest news is shocking,” he said, adding “though, we will get the clear picture tomorrow.”
Agencies
