Students in parts of Benue State wrote their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) exams in darkness on Wednesday night, using phone torchlights.
DAILY POST gathered that while the candidates had earlier written the essay component of their English paper, they were made to wait for several hours for the arrival of the exam officer with the objective section.
The delay stretched until about 8:00 to 9:00 pm in some centres, with exams reportedly ending as late as 11:00 pm.
A student from one of the secondary schools in Ogbadibo Local Government Area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We waited for hours after writing the essay. When the exam officer finally came, we had to use our phone lights and lanterns to write the objective section. It was very stressful.”;
Another student added, “The exam officer didn’t give any meaningful explanation for the delay. He just came, handed over the papers, and said nothing about why he was late.”;
The situation sparked panic among parents, many of whom stormed the schools upon hearing that their children were still writing exams late into the night.
A parent in Owukpa who was visibly frustrated told DAILY POST, “This is a national disgrace. How can children be writing exams in the bush, under darkness, at such a dangerous hour? Is this how we want to educate the future of Nigeria?”;
It was also gathered that a local community leader in Owukpa had to arrange accommodation for the exam officer who couldn’t return home due to the worsening security situation in the area.
“We had no choice but to let him sleep here. It was already past 11pm and nobody goes anywhere at that hour in this part of the country. The government needs to intervene,”; the community leader said.
Meanwhile, sources told DAILY POST that the situation was not limited to Ogbadibo.
In other parts of the state, some schools reportedly did not write the objective section at all and are expected to do so this morning.
“This kind of irregularity puts the integrity of the examination at risk. We expect WAEC to speak on this and take urgent corrective measures,”; a teacher from one of the affected schools lamented.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is yet to officially comment on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
