The management of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has come under pressure to reopen registration for the school exam, which is currently ongoing in over 20,000 secondary schools nationwide.

Daily Sun gathered that some private schools that failed to meet the deadline for the registration of students to write the May/June 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) are mounting pressure to be allowed to register their candidates.

The May/June 2023 WASSCE is currently ongoing with 1.6 million students in 20,675 secondary schools participating.

It was gathered that some private schools that failed to meet the registration deadline wrote the Minister of Education, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, House Committee on Education, and others demanding the closed registration be reopened to enable them to register their students.

Following the private schools’ letters, the management of WAEC got calls from top government officials and lawmakers seeking clarifications on the content of the petitions.

Daily Sun learnt that WAEC management defended their position and further explained the opportunities given to schools to register their students for the school exam since October 10^th, 2022.

The Federal Ministry of Education and the National Assembly Committee on Education were satisfied with the explanation of the council.

Senior management of the council alleged that the private schools involved were busy shopping for external candidates and wondered how they would come up with their continuous assessment as part of the requirements for WASSCE.

His words: “Non-adherence to registration deadline by private schools is a major problem and the schools still do want to conform with deadline. The council started registration on October 10, 2022, extended it in March 2023, and closed registration on April 15^th, 2023. The registration was on for six months and five days.

“We are now doing day and night, Saturdays and Sundays to be able to print some exam materials. We shifted registration many times and it almost affected our preparation for the school exam.

“Schools that failed to register within the time allowed are now mounting pressure on government officials to be given a chance to register students. What were the schools doing when others registered”?

In a swift reaction, the National President, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Chief Yomi Otubela, said he is not aware of any petition and acknowledged that WASSCE had started over a week ago.

A total of 1,621,853 candidates from 20,851 secondary schools registered for the May/June 2023 WASSCE, which would end on Friday, June 23. (The Sun)

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