By FRANK IKPEFAN, Abuja

The National Examination Council (NECO) has announced the postponement of the ongoing Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination indefinitely.

The Governing Board of NECO took the decision at its Special Meeting on last week after it reviewed conduct of the on-going 2020 examination nationwide.

The Council, had in a statement dated 21st October 2020, informed the general public of rescheduling some papers of the 2020 on-going SSCE because of the inability of the agency to deliver examination materials to some states as a result of curfew.

But rising from Thursday’s meeting, the Governing Board resolved that the 2020 SSCE be postponed indefinitely in view of the current security challenges, occasioned by the ENDSARS protests, which disrupted the smooth conduct of the examinations in some parts of the country.

Head, Information and Public Relations Division, NECO, Azeez Sani, confirmed the development in a statement on Sunday.

“In making this decision, the board noted that due to these security challenges:

1. Some state governments imposed curfew and closed schools in order to safeguard lives and property;
2. In the circumstances, it has become difficult for the Council to move examination materials across the country;
3. Students in the affected locations were unable to sit for the papers already scheduled in the examination time table.

“The Governing Board further resolved, that when normalcy returns, the Council will continue with the conduct of the examinations in all States.

“While regretting any inconveniences this postponement may cause our esteemed stakeholders, the Council has however taken this decision in order to maintain the integrity and security of its examination procedures for seamless conduct of the Council’s examination,” the statement said. (The Nation)