Private school owners and the government have been caught in a new conflict of interest over FG's decision to opt out of 2020 WASSCE.
The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and the National Parents-Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) have said private schools are set to participate in the 2020 senior school certificate examination (SSCE) being conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
It appealed to the federal government to reconsider its position on the matter.
Recall that the government had last week said no Nigerian school would participate in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) earlier scheduled to hold from August 5 to September 5.
The Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, said the atmosphere is not conducive for the May/June diet of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination to hold in the country.
But the stakeholders described the latest position of the government as inconsistent and confusing.
The minister had on Wednesday announced the reversal of the government’s earlier position on schools’ resumption, saying the atmosphere is yet unsafe for teaching and learning in the country.
Mr Adamu’s position was based on the rising cases of coronavirus diseases in the country, saying children would find it difficult to observe the required protocols including social distancing, to keep themselves safe if allowed to return to schools.
Speaking about NAPPS position, the president, Yomi Otubela, in a telephone interview with us, said private schools across the country are set to participate in the examination, noting that the required protocols as recommended by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the management of the coronavirus disease would be observed.
He said a formal appeal will be made to the minister on Tuesday, saying rather than blanket non-participation of Nigerian candidates in the examination, the government should set appropriate rules to guide the conduct of the examination and ensure strict compliance.
He said;
In a similar development, the national president of NAPTAN, Haruna Danjuma, said as critical stakeholders in the education sector, parents are uncomfortable with
According to Mr Danjuma, the government’s inconsistency could be observed from the earlier position of the presidential task force on COVID-19 headed by the secretary to the government of the federation, which issued a directive on the possible resumption of schools.
He said;
“But surprisingly, the same government has opened up markets, religious worship centres, airports, and also the interstate transits. So what are we talking about? If our children don’t sit for the SSCE, what will they hold to pursue admission into higher institutions? Surprisingly, most of these candidates had earlier sat for the unified tertiary matriculation
Meanwhile, WAEC has reacted on the development, saying it is within the legitimate power of governments of the five-member countries to make such decisions.
Earlier, in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the WAEC’s Head of Nigeria’s Office (HNO), Patrick Areghan, said the examination body was still reviewing the situation and that it would make its position known soon.
He said;
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