Government, WAEC review timetable for WASCE

The Federal Government has worked out a negotiated timetable with the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to ensure that subjects like Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa languages were rescheduled for the general subjects to be taken first in a time-buying strategy to be at par with the rest of West Africa.

According to government, the option would have been that if everything fails, Nigeria could go for the General Certificate Examination (GCE) holding in November. Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, who disclosed this yesterday during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja, reiterated that the country could not open schools until “we are sure that the children will go to schools with maximum level of protection.”He said the Federal Ministry of Education would meet with stakeholders on July 30 regarding the reopening of the learning institutions.

“We believe that our response is a national response, and all states should align with that. But education is a concurrent matter in the constitution. States can make certain decisions within the guidelines provided by the PTF,” the minister explained.

Nwajiuba went on: “I have spoken repeatedly that if you look at what the PTF chairman presented in June, he said he was not giving a date for school resumption, proposing that in view of WAEC’s timetable, it will be advisable for those who can, to make arrangement for usage of the available facilities. That is what is stated in the guidelines. A checklist of the requirements to be put in place, and we have given a cut-off date so we can know who needs help.

“In view of the timetable, schools should evaluate what they have done in line with the requirements. We have given July 29 as deadline.”