2020 WASSCE: Reps Reject FG’s Decision As Atiku Reveals What Nigeria Should Have Done

 

Former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on Friday called on the Federal Government to reconsider its recent decision that Nigerian pupils cannot resume school or participate in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), warning that Nigerians may cross to neighbouring countries to sit for the 2020 WASSCE.

This was as the House of Representatives criticized the Federal Government’s decision to suspend the plan to partially reopen schools for pupils in final classes to take external examinations as well as the decision to disallow Nigerian pupils from sitting for the examination to be conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for the 2019/2020 academic session.

Schools at all levels in the country have been shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 had earlier in June said the Federal Government, in what it called “safe reopening of schools,” had approved resumption of pupils in graduating classes, including Primary 6, Junior Secondary School 3 and the Senior Secondary School 3.

Later, the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, during the press briefing by the presidential task force announced that the 2020 WASSCE would hold between August 4 and September 5.

But the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, at the end of this Wednesday’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari declared that all federal schools would remain closed until it was safe to reopen them.

Adamu also urged state governments that had announced schools resumption plans to rescind such, and appealed to WAEC to reconsider postponing the examination scheduled for August 5 and September 5.

In his reaction via a statement issued on Friday, Atiku stated that rather than pull out from the exercise, Nigeria should have reached an agreement with WAEC to stagger examinations with a different set of questions prepared for each shift.

And in a statement issued titled “WASSCE should not be cancelled”, Chairman of the Committee on Basic Education and Services, Prof Julius Ihonvbere expressed the displeasure of his colleagues, stressing that Adamu did not inform the country if the position was in agreement with other West African leaders or in consultation with the examination bodies, the state governments and other stakeholders in the education sector.

While recalling that Nwajiuba had on several occasions assured Nigerians that all steps were being taken to ensure full compliance with all COVID-19 protocols in schools, the lawmaker said, “This sudden policy reversal is not good for the country; it is bound to create further confusion in the education sector, create disappointment and suspicion among parents, and frustrate the students.

According to him, “It would show our development partners and Nigerians that the distortions and disarticulations in the sector are only getting worse.

“The reversal also shows that our policy makers may just be adopting a laid-back approach to the need to confront the novel coronavirus rather than taking proactive and creative steps to manage and contain it”.

The lawmaker disagreed with the minister, saying that a reconsideration was urgently needed to save the educational system in the country.

“Nigeria is not the only country expected to write the examination in the midst of COVID-19; Nigeria should insist that the examination be based exclusively on the already covered syllabus of schools.

“The Federal Ministry should not chicken out of its responsibilities, but take charge, provide policy direction, engage the states and other stakeholders.

“We recommend that WAEC quadruple its invigilators and use all classrooms and event centres to conduct the examination and comply with COVID-19 protocols.

“The Ministry of Science and Technology as well as the Ministries of Environment and Health should immediately work out an agenda to fumigate all classrooms, provide handwashing buckets with soap and water, and facemasks to all students.

“Students should come from home, write the paper and disperse immediately,” he said.

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct all ministers to return to their states to work with the governors to ensure smooth implementation of the policy and conduct of the examination.

According to the Reps committee chairman, “we are parents just like the minister and no Nigerian parent would want to delay, distort, even terminate the progress of any child.”

Ihonvbere said that the committee was convinced that if the recommendations were implemented, the WASSCE could be conducted with ease and with no repercussions.

On his part, Atiku said, “At a time of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is understandable that an abundance of caution is put in place to save lives. However, caution, without consultation, and thoughtful action, may be counterproductive. 1.5 million Nigerian youths write WAEC annually.

“To abruptly cancel this exam is to set back our nation’s youth, and place them behind their contemporaries in other West African countries. This is perilous because Foreign Direct Investments and other economic indicators are tied to the educational indexes of nations.

“Already, Nigeria lags behind in crucial indices, like school enrolment, pass rates, and out of school children. This action will further create chaos in the public education system and exacerbate an already bad situation.

“In the alternative, FG can prevail on WAEC to have staggered examinations with a different set of questions for each shift. This will allow WAEC Nigeria to implement social distancing and carry out the examinations.

“I urge this administration to take into account that the lives they are trying to save will be further put at risk. If this policy is not reversed, tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, will breach social distancing rules to cross over to neighbouring West African nations to write their WASSCE, rather than miss a year,” the former Vice President said.