The President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Yomi Otubela, has criticised the conduct of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) during nighttime hours, describing it as unacceptable and detrimental to performance.
Recall controversy over the conduct of WASSCE in parts of the country made headlines in May, after students in Taraba and Ogun states and others were made to sit for exams at night.
Otubela, in a televised interview today cited reports of students writing exams under candlelight and torchlight in some states, warning that such conditions undermine academic outcomes.
“We cannot overrule the fact that the condition in which the examination was written in some states is not acceptable to us. The fact that children were writing exams late into the night with candles and torchlights cannot be a standard that will allow us to have commendable results,” he said on Wednesday.
The NAPPS president however commended students who managed to perform despite the harsh conditions, attributing the significant dip in pass rate to systemic issues within the country’s education sector.
“I must commend children who, in spite of all the economic hardship and other challenges in preparing for the exam, came out with commendable results.