WAEC: Atiku Reacts As FG Fixes Sep 5 For Reopening Of Schools

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has reacted to Federal Government’s decision to reopen schools by September 5, 2020.

This comes after the Federal Government listed new guidelines for the Reopening of schools in the country.

Speaking on the new development, Atiku said he is elated at the decision by the government to reopen learning institutions that have been closed down as a measure to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Recall that Atiku had faulted the cancellation of West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, by the Federal Government.

He had warned that the cancellation of WAEC puts Nigeria at risk because most country’s economy has its basis in education.

“1.5 million Nigerian youths write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination annually. To abruptly cancel this examination is to set back our nation’s youth, and place them behind their contemporaries in other West African nations. This is perilous, because Foreign Direct Investments and other economic indicators, are tied to the educational indexes of nations.

“Already, Nigeria lags behind other African nations in crucial indices, like school enrolment, pass rates, and out of school children. This action, will further create chaos in the public education system and exacerbate an already bad situation.

“Rather than cancell-ation, there are better ways to protect the health of Nigerians and prevent the pandemic from escalating. We could mobilise all available public and private infrastructures including primary schools, stadia, and cinemas, for the examinations. In the alternative, the Federal Government can prevail on WAEC to have a staggered examinations with a different set of questions for each shift. Doing so will allow WAEC Nigeria implement social distancing and achieve the goal of carrying out the examinations. A win-win scenario.”

Reacting to the new development, Atiku tweeted, “I am elated at reports that @NigeriaGov and WAEC have resolved to shift the date of examinations to September 5, 2020.”