President Buhari
The West African Examination Council (WAEC), has bowed to pressure from Nigeria to shift forward the date of its 2020 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), following a meeting with federal government officials in Abuja early this week.
The Examination Council (WAEC), yesterday agreed to shift the date for the commencement of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) from August 4 to September 5.
The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, who announced this yesterday, said the decision was the outcome of a meeting between the Federal Government and officials of WAEC’s Nigeria office on Monday noting that both parties have agreed to further consult with four other countries on new examination date.
The minister also revealed that government has given school owners in the country till July 29, to meet specific guidelines towards the reopening of schools at a date to be announced in due course.
He stated that the Ministry of Education, having consulted widely, has in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Education in Emergencies Working Group, developed and circulated guidelines for the reopening of schools
In a related development, a statement signed by the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, quoted the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba as saying the shift in date was “as a result of a meeting which held on Monday.”
However, according to the statement, discussions will continue with four other countries to determine a new date for the examination.
Goong added that schools had been given till July 29, 2020, to ensure that their facilities are ready for resumption in line with the guidelines issued by the ministry of education for safe reopening of places of learning.
The ministry said a decision would be taken after the July 29 deadline on resumption of schools for all categories of learners.
“We have consulted widely with stakeholders in the sector, including commissioners of education in all the states of the federation, the Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria,(APSON), National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, (NAPPS), Provosts of Colleges of Education, Rectors of Polytechnics, Vice-Chancellors of Universities, some State Governors, and development partners,” Nwajiuba was quoted as saying.
In a related development, 600 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded yesterday nationwide, taking the number of confirmed cases to 35,454, with 14,633 discharged and 772 deaths.
