Nigeria: NGO wants students to be allowed for WASSC examination

OpenFees, an Abuja-based non-governmental organization that caters to the basic education of indigent students has insisted that the Nigerian students should be allowed to write the 2020 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE), according to a news report by This Day.

The organization has stressed the point that if politicians can hold elections following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, it should also be possible for final year students to take their examinations.

The group asked the Nigerian government and other stakeholders to stop the politics and take a stand on the 2020 WASSCE for the sake of students whose future is at stake.

In a statement issued on July 19, OpenFees said, "Science, technology and rigorous enforcement of hygiene and social distancing rules are already making it possible for schools elsewhere to reopen gradually and there is no reason why we can't use that here."

In addition, the statement said, "We are particularly concerned that JSS 3 and SS 3 students in public schools most of who have not had significant learning, because of poor access to online resources would have to wait for another year before taking their final exams.

"If the government can invest half the time and resources it wants to use to conduct elections, in spite of COVID-19, to provide a safe environment for students, it should be possible for these final year students to take their exams without too much difficulty."