| Since the recent confusion created by the two ministers superintending over the Federal Ministry of Education on the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), there have been opposing positions taken by groups and individuals in Nigeria, including the House of Representatives. JOSHUA EGBODO writes. The initial confusion Confusion started in Nigeria, when the West African Examinations Council announced its decision to hold WASSCE, a unified examination cutting across several West African countries. Following same, Nigeria’s Minister of state for education, Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba during one of the regular briefings of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, announced that efforts were on to get Nigerian schools reopened, and that the WASSCE would hold. Few days later, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu surprisingly announced a reversal of the position as put forward by Nwajiuba, to the effect that Nigerian candidates would not be part of the 2020 WASSCE over safety concerns on COVID-19. Reps provoked With the new position presented by Mallam Adamu, the House of Representatives committee on basic education and services was sufficiently provoked to respond. The committee said it was amazed on the announcement that “Nigerian students would not be participating in the forthcoming WASSCE examinations”. The chairman of the house committee, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, in the statement stated that “He (Adamu) did not inform the country if this 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. The Minister also did not inform the public if the decision was the outcome of a meeting with all state governments that are in charge of all but the Unity Secondary Schools that are owned by the federal government”. Seemingly stressing a point that the senior minister announced the reversal without the needed consultation, the lawmaker said the Minister of State, in his usually consultative and participatory approach, had briefed the nation at the COVID-19 presidential committee briefing, over the airwaves and in an appearance before the House Committee on Basic Education, where he assured Nigerians that all steps had, or were being taken to ensure full compliance with all COVID-19 protocols. On possible effects of the detour announced by Adamu, and possible options that could be adopted, the Professor stated; “This sudden policy reversal is not good for the country. It is bound to create further confusion in the education sector, creates disappointment and suspicion among parents, frustrates the students, and shows to 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. “We are convinced that if our policy of no boarding house, reconceptualising scope of exams, use of all classrooms and halls in the schools, quadrupling the number of invigilators, provision of facemasks, sanitizers and hand washing facilities are followed, the WASSCE can be conducted with ease and with no repercussions”, the committee chairman said in the statement. “The House Committee disagrees with the Honourable Minister and believes that a reconsideration is urgently needed to save our educational system on the following grounds; 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; WAEC should quadruple its invigilators and use all classrooms and event centres to conduct the examination and comply with covid 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. The original plan of opening hostels for boarding to facilitate so-called revision classes should be cancelled immediately and the students should come from home, write the paper and disperse immediately; Mr President should direct all his Ministers to return to their states, work with the Governors and ensure the smooth implementation of the policy and conduct of the examination”. Beyond the House of Reps Outside the reaction of the House of Representatives, groups and individuals have joined in the fray, coming from opposing angles on the matter. Atiku Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in a position statement aligned with the House, arguing that cancelling WASSCE by the country would put Nigeria at more risk than the feared effects. “As a parent and investor in the education sector, I wish to register the fact that the Nigerian government’s policy of unilaterally cancelling the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, held annually by the West African Examinations Council, is not in Nigeria’s best interest. “At a time of the global Covid-19 pandemic, it is understandable that an abundance of caution be put in place to save lives. However, caution without consultation and thoughtful action may be counterproductive. “1.5 million Nigerian youth write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination annually. To abruptly cancel this examination is to set back our nation’s youth, and place them behind their contemporaries in other West African nations. This is perilous, because Foreign Direct Investments and other economic indicators are tied to the educational indexes of nations”, ATIKU said, pointing out the option “better ways to protect the health of Nigerians and prevent the pandemic from escalating. We could mobilise all available public and private infrastructures including primary schools, stadia, and cinemas, for the examinations….”. 19 states back Adamu However, reports over the weekend cited 19 northern states to have expressed support for the continuous closure of schools, though no specific option were provided on the controversial suspension of WASSCE. Commissioners of education from the said states reportedly offered their position after a virtual meeting ‘to consider schools reopening and other issues to strengthen the education sector’. A communique made public by the Kaduna state Commissioner of Education, and chairman, Northern States School Exchange Programme, Dr Shehu Makarfi, which explained that 13 of the 19 classified as Nigeria’s northern states participated in the meeting, which ended with a verdict commending the minister of education ‘for taking a decisive stand against schools reopening’. The communique stated that the participating states have collectively resolved that “schools should be reopened only when it is safe to do so and when states have complied with the the minimum COVID-19 safety protocols as outlined by the NCDC. “We will also participate in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and other examinations only when it is safe to reopen schools and when coordinated by the federal ministry of education”, as to them, keeping schools closed across the country at the moment remained a sure step to keeping children safe. Whither the next move? With the raging opposing debates, many have expressed concerns that Nigeria appeared directionless, with supporting arguments that if the entire school system cannot open for now, our supposed inability to manage a limited number of candidates to write the WASSCE would be a wrong signal to other countries involved, more that, a lot of the countries cannot boast of the volume of space and facilities available in Nigeria. To such pundits, our candidates can sit for the WASSCE as suggested by the House of Representatives and others, if we are serious. It is opined that as earlier put forward by proponents of the no WASSCE suspension debate, classes of sitting capacities of between 25 and 30 can be trimmed to just about 10-12, restrict parents, guardians or relatives’ presence, no candidate entry without face masks, no close contacts, only candidates for specific papers can entre centres at such times, and increase of the use of empty schools and invigilators, among other innovations should suffice. |
Reps and discordance over WASSCE suspension
