Primary school pupils in Imo State on Friday sat for the mandatory First School Leaving Certificate and Common Entrance examinations under darkness as the exercise dragged beyond 7pm in several centres across the state.

Parents have called for the sack of officials of the state Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education over the conduct of the examinations, which extended late into the evening.

Pupils were required to sit both the First School Leaving Certificate and Common Entrance examinations on the same day, causing the exercise to continue until after 7pm in some centres.

The First School Leaving Certificate examination and the Common Entrance examination are qualifying examinations for admission into secondary school in Nigeria, while the Common Entrance examination is specifically used for admission into state-owned secondary schools.

Pupils had left their homes early in the morning under heavy rainfall to meet the scheduled 9am commencement time.

However, the rains reportedly delayed the distribution of examination materials to various centres.

Across different schools, parents waited for their children to complete the examinations but were shocked that question papers had yet to arrive in many centres as of 4pm.

At Shell Camp Primary School, Kingdom Heritage Model School, World Bank Primary School, Barclays International School, Irete, among others, dozens of parents remained in their cars, shops and makeshift shelters, while others stood in the rain waiting for the examinations to end.

A parent, Chukwudi, wrote on Facebook, “whoever is in charge of Common Entrance Examination and First Leaving School Certificate Examination in Imo State; whether the Commissioner for Education or whoever should be sacked. They are incompetent and unorganized. Pupils still taking local exams till 6:30pm. Shame to the organizers”.

Another parent, Chinwe, wrote, “Imo State educational system is zero. 8pm, children that left their homes before 8:am amidst the heavy rain are still out in the cold writing FSLC exam that was scheduled to hold before now ( The exam was moved twice )”.

According to several parents, the only explanation given for the delay was the late arrival of question papers and answer booklets.

At the Shell Camp Primary School centre, another parent alleged that the question papers were insufficient, forcing pupils to share copies or write the examination in batches.

The parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “can you imagine the psychological trauma under which these children less than 12 years have endured all day.

“They woke up early, entered the heavy rains to get to their centres amidst the cold. Many are hungry and exhausted but still have to write the exam as at 7pm. It’s a huge failure of the system. The Education ministry has failed us all. And to imagine some may be heading to far distance under the same rains.”

Several parents also took to social media to demand disciplinary measures over the development.

When contacted for a reaction, the Commissioner for Primary and Secondary Education, Prof. Bernard Ikegwuoha, declined to comment.

“I don’t have anything to say for now please,” Ikegwuoha said. (PUNCH)