Outrage as WAEC Conducts Exam at Midnight — Parents, NANS Demand Answers!

Parents of candidates taking the West African Examinations Council’s (WAEC) ongoing Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) have blasted the council for causing the candidates undue stress because they had to write their English language paper late on Wednesday night.

The paper, which was supposed to start at 3 p.m., sometimes did not start until 7 p.m. in various parts of the nation.

It was discovered that the delay was due to an alleged leakage of the paper, which led WAEC to rapidly produce another set of questions.

In Jalingo, Taraba State, the examination, which was initially set for earlier in the day, was strangely postponed by the examining body until about 9:00 p.m., with no official explanation provided.

The majority of the applicants, the majority of whom are teenagers, were obviously worn out and under a lot of stress when they wrote the paper.

Despite the intense rain, parents and school administrators had to take their children to the testing locations when most of them would have been asleep.

A school proprietor who spoke with Vanguard confirmed that her children passed their exams at midnight.

She voiced concern over the mental and physical toll on the pupils, many of whom had been waiting in school throughout the day.

“As teenagers, they needed to be well-fed and in the right frame of mind to write such a critical paper. She said, “I had to assume full responsibility for their well-being.”

In order to make sure the exam could eventually take place, the proprietor personally drove out in the rain at night to pick up exam supervisors, and she also blasted the examination body’s inadequate logistical arrangements.

In order to keep the hall adequately lit, I needed to purchase thirty liters of fuel to run the generator. We hope this doesn’t happen again because it wasn’t in our budget or plan.

According to information obtained by Vanguard, some pupils were able to get home by midnight, but others were forced to stay at school through the night.

Parents and educators are furious about the occurrence and are urging WAEC to look into the delay and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Similarly, WAEC has come under fire from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) for delaying the administration of the English language test for the current Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE).

In a statement on Thursday by the National Public Relations Officer, Comrade Adeyemi Samson Ajasa, the association highlighted that changing the exam from 4pm to 7pm put the lives of the innocent children at risk and that the failure of WAEC should not be visited on the kids.

Under the direction of Comrade Olushola Oladoja, the National Association of Nigerian Students vehemently denounces the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for the excessive postponement of the English Language paper on Wednesday, which was purportedly caused by the leak of exam questions.

“The examination was postponed to an absurdly late time of 4:00 to 7:00 PM as a result of this development, which shows a shocking level of insensitivity and a gross disregard for the safety and well-being of Nigerian students, especially those in rural communities.”

“As a long-standing examination body, WAEC is expected to be a beacon of professionalism, preparedness, and efficiency. The repeated incidents of examination paper leakage are a clear indication of systemic failures in WAEC’s security measures and operations. NANS strongly believes that these lapses tarnish the credibility of our educational system and unfairly burden Nigerian students, who are already dealing with numerous challenges. The decision to hold examinations at such late hours not only puts students in danger—many of whom must travel dangerous routes to and from examination centers—but also compromises the integrity of the process and damages their psychological readiness.

“We demand accountability, urging WAEC to identify and hold responsible all individuals or groups involved in the leakage of examination questions. WAEC must develop tougher security policies to prevent future instances, utilizing technology and boosting staff training to defend the integrity of its examinations. In addition, WAEC needs to publicly apologize to all impacted students and their families for the unnecessary anxiety and inconvenience this delay has caused. Additionally, concrete measures must be implemented to guarantee the safety of students, especially those in remote areas, who are returning home late from exam centers.

WAEC has released a statement explaining the reasons behind the delay, saying, “The academic future of our students must not be jeopardized by administrative inefficiencies or institutional negligence. WAEC must take immediate and decisive steps to rebuild trust and ensure that such incidents do not reoccur.” NANS is still committed to advocating for the rights and welfare of Nigerian students and will not hesitate to escalate this matter if tangible actions are not taken promptly.

In a statement by the Public Affairs Department, WAEC noted that their principal purpose of preserving examination integrity and preventing paper leaks contributed to the logistical challenges experienced.

“While we successfully maintained the security of our examination materials, this focus has unfortunately led to delays in their timely conduct,” stated Moyosola Adesina, acting head of public affairs.

Adesina continued by pointing out that a number of variables contributed to the difficulties encountered, such as logistical obstacles, security issues, and social influences.

We recognize that this has caused applicants, their parents, and their schools to feel anxious. We really regret any inconveniences that these circumstances may have caused. To guarantee more seamless operations in upcoming inspections, WAEC is now working with security agencies in light of these concerns.

“We are steadfast in our resolve to maintain the highest standards in examination conduct,” Adesina declared.

“We understand how important it is to administer exams on time, and we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again.”