The Federal Government has concluded plans to approach West African Examination Council (WAEC) for adjustment in 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) timetable scheduled to hold between August 4 and September 5.
It also disclosed that in a week time, representatives of the apex government, State commissioners of education, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) chairmen, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), private school owners, and other stakeholders would meet virtually and check their readiness for the examination.
The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, who disclosed the plans on Thursday at Presidential Task Force (PTF) press briefing held in Abuja, stressed that the moves were strategies embraced by the government to ensure students safety ahead of the examination.
Nwajiuba stated that the adjustment would not affect the date set by the examination body but would help the country to ensure the safety of teachers and students.
The minister hinted that the adjustment would only affect subjects peculiar to Nigeria and fell in the early part of the examination timetable released by WAEC.
Some of the subjects listed by Nwajiuba were Igbo language, Yoruba language, Hausa language, and others offered solely by students in Nigeria.
The minister stated that these subjects would not be waived but would be scheduled for a later date aside from the date earlier fixed by WAEC and that it would afford the government time to flatten coronavirus curve in the country.
He said: “We have worked out a negotiated timeline with WAEC such that what we called peculiar Nigerian subjects, these are subjects that are only done by students in Nigeria and they are in the first part of the timetable.
“After completing general subjects, we will now work on the domestication module of earlier subjects postponed. We believe that this will buy us the time that we need to be at par with other West African countries because the unanimity at which the body had worked over the years is very important to us”, the minister added.
