WASSCE suspension: Nigeria at risk — Atiku
By Iyabode Ishola
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has said that cancellation of the 2020 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) by the Federal Government will put Nigeria at more risk.
Atiku said this at a press statement recently, pointing out that 1.5 million Nigerian youths write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination annually, adding, “the sudden cancellation of the examination is to set back our nation’s youth, and place them behind their contemporaries in other West African nations.”
“I urge this administration to take into account that the lives they are trying to save will be further put at risk, because if this policy is not reversed, tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, will breach social distancing rules to cross over to neighbouring West African nations to write their WASSCE, rather than miss a year”.
Atiku said that the move by the Nigerian government to curb the COVID-19 pandemic is not in the nation’s best interest.
This, he noted, is because the Federal Government unilaterally took the decision “without consultation, and thoughtful action, which may be counterproductive.”
“This is perilous because Foreign Direct Investments and other economic indicators are tied to the educational indexes of nations.
“Already, Nigeria lags behind other African nations in crucial indices, like school enrolment, pass rates, and out of school children. This action will further create chaos in the public education system and exacerbate an already bad situation,” he said.
On the way forward, Atiku wants the Federal and state governments to mobilise all available public and private infrastructures including primary schools, stadia, and cinemas, for the examinations.
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on WAEC to have a staggering examination with a different set of questions for each shift.
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has said that cancellation of the 2020 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) by the Federal Government will put Nigeria at more risk.
Atiku said this at a press statement recently, pointing out that 1.5 million Nigerian youths write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination annually, adding, “the sudden cancellation of the examination is to set back our nation’s youth, and place them behind their contemporaries in other West African nations.”
“I urge this administration to take into account that the lives they are trying to save will be further put at risk, because if this policy is not reversed, tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, will breach social distancing rules to cross over to neighbouring West African nations to write their WASSCE, rather than miss a year”.
Atiku said that the move by the Nigerian government to curb the COVID-19 pandemic is not in the nation’s best interest.
This, he noted, is because the Federal Government unilaterally took the decision “without consultation, and thoughtful action, which may be counterproductive.”
“This is perilous because Foreign Direct Investments and other economic indicators are tied to the educational indexes of nations.
On the way forward, Atiku wants the Federal and state governments to mobilise all available public and private infrastructures including primary schools, stadia, and cinemas, for the examinations.
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on WAEC to have a staggering examination with a different set of questions for each shift.
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