The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has apologised for the logistics delay that forced candidates to write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) at night.
The Head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC, Amos Dangut, told Channels Television’s The Morning Brief crew on Thursday that the examination body got information that the paper to be taken on Wednesday was about to be compromised, hence the need to take immediate action.
Many had raised concerns when videos showed some secondary school students in Taraba State, North-Eastern Nigeria, and Ogun State, in the South-West zone of Nigeria, sitting for WASSCE at night on Wednesday.
Addressing the matter, the WAEC boss apologised and stated that the incident won’t recur.
Dangut said when the examination body got information that the paper was about to be compromised, “we went to the drawing board and quickly came up with a solution to the compromised paper”.
“We were able to achieve the aim we set out to achieve, which is to prevent leakage, but unfortunately, some other issues lurking in the dark reared their heads and affected the timely conduct of the examination, and that is particularly with regard to logistics.
“We had serious logistical problems – the vehicle that was conveying the exam materials to Taraba broke down in the middle of the night, and efforts to ensure that materials were recovered and sent to the place could not be achieved in time.
“We deeply regret it and we have taken all steps necessary to ensure this is nipped in the bud and that it does not recur,” he said.
