The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has warned that its timetable for the 2020 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) that will be released after the coronavirus pandemic break may not leave room for long preparations for candidates.
The council said it had therefore made available several online resources for candidates and pupils sitting for its terminal examination.
It added that the council is working on making online tutorials available for WASSCE candidates.
The Head, WAEC Public Affairs, Mr Damian Ojijeogu, in an interview with Punch correspondent, said there might not be time for candidates to begin preparations when the council brings out its new timetable after the pandemic.
He said;
The turn-out of the use of our online resources by candidates has been encouraging. We have been getting great feedback. Even those who could not log in initially have been assisted to do so. All the subjects are covered.
Ojijeogu stressed that;
When the lockdown period is over, we will release the new timetable. It is not good that the candidates are idle at home. So, the online resources will help them to revise and it will assist them to avoid the mistakes of those who have written our examination in the past.
According to him, there may not be enough for candidates to prepare for the examination after the pandemic.
The public affairs head stated that;
Those who need online tutors are being provided with such. We hope the pandemic will end and life will return to normal.
It would be recalled that WAEC, on March 20, announced the postponement of its school certificate examination until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council had noted that the new dates for the examination, which was earlier scheduled for April 6, would be communicated to schools and other education stakeholders in due course.
According to the council, the decision was a demonstration of organizations concern and support for the various protocols being put in place by the federal and state governments of Nigeria and the governments of the other member countries to check the spread of the disease.
It stated that;
The earlier released timetable for the conduct of the examination is hereby suspended until further notice. We wish to assure all candidates, schools presenting candidates for the examination, all stakeholders and indeed, the general public that this decision will be reviewed once the health situation improves.
