Logistics failure forces candidates to write NECO exam at night in Kano

It was unusual scene across public secondary schools in Kano on Thursday when the students already set to write the English Language examination for their Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) May/June were compelled to do so in the night, following the late commencement of the ongoing National Examination Council (NECO) examination in the state.

Traditionally slated to hold between 10am and 2pm nationwide, The Guardian learnt that the examination could not commence until 6pm and lasted three hours, thereby compelling many to write their papers using torchlights. 

It was gathered that many students had to take a break around 7pm to break their fast briefly before continuing with the examination.

An examiner, who craved anonymity, for fear of being sanctioned, told The Guardian that the exercise started about 8pm in some local government areas far away from the metropolis.

“For instance, some students could not start their papers until 8pm, because their papers did not arrive until around 7pm. In fact, many students wrote the papers using torchlight, since there were no provision for power generator.”

Some of the candidates, who narrated their ordeal at some of the centres around Red Bricks on BUK, Airport and Hadejia roads, all in Kano metropolis, said they were forced to seat for the papers under terrible experience.

Abubakar Inuwa said: “We started the paper about 7.30pm and there was no light, so we had to make use of torchlights because there was no generator.”

Another student, who declined to be named, said: “The situation under which we wrote the paper cannot be imagine. We had to write using our phone torchlights and some were with candles already.”

Efforts to speak with the state coordinator of NECO in Kano proved abortive, as his telephone lines were switched off at press time. 

But when contacted on telephone, Head of Information at NECO headquarters in Minna, Niger State, Abdulazeez Sani, explained that the delayed was due to late arrival of the vehicle conveying the examination materials.