The circumstances under which students throughout Nigeria were forced to take the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination have been denounced by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who has called for a retake of the problematic paper and called the situation a “national disgrace.
” Atiku expressed grave concern over what he described as a “damning indictment of our systemic failure to uphold the most basic standards in public education” in a statement released on Thursday in response to numerous reports of students taking exams in dim and inappropriate settings across the nation.
“It is a national disgrace that students are taking the West African Senior School Certificate Examination in dreadfully unsuitable and dark conditions nationwide,” he wrote.
The shame is only increased by the fact that this outrage happened the day after International Children’s Day was observed worldwide. This is a damning indictment of our systemic failure to uphold the most fundamental standards in public education, not just a regrettable incident.
“It is intolerable, unjustifiable, and completely unjustifiable that our children must take important national exams in complete darkness in 2025 like second-class citizens.
” A “severe injustice to the students whose futures hang in the balance” would result from anything less, Atiku added, calling for the retake of the impacted exam paper in all impacted centres. He wrote, “This incident must awaken our national conscience.”
“Education must be the top priority—not just in words, but in real action—and it must require immediate and ongoing investment in vital social infrastructure.
” It would be “utterly unjust to allow students to suffer the consequences of such gross institutional negligence,” he added, adding that although students share responsibility for exam preparation, the authorities failed to provide favourable conditions.
In order to avoid a recurrence, Atiku urged the appropriate authorities to set and enforce minimum environmental and infrastructure standards for all national exams with high stakes.
He wrote, “Under our watch, we must never permit such a disgraceful situation to recur.
” According to PUNCH Online, viral videos released on Wednesday showed candidates using lanterns and cell phone flashlights to sit for the 2025 WASSCE English Language exam late at night without electricity.
At Government Secondary School, Namnai, in Taraba State, a similar incident was also reported, where candidates barely avoided harm when their classrooms collapsed on Wednesday night during a storm.
The West African Examinations Council blamed increased efforts to prevent exam malpractice, specifically question paper leaks, for the postponement of the 2025 English language exam.
The National Association of Nigerian Students, however, denounced WAEC for the postponement, calling the exam’s move from 4 to 7 p.m. “insensitive” and a “gross disregard for the safety and well-being” of candidates, particularly in rural areas.
NANS also blasted WAEC for its internal security shortcomings, saying that students shouldn’t have to bear the consequences of the organization’s inability to stop exam fraud.
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