WASSCE: Knocks for WAEC over late night exam

By Chidimma C. Okeke, Itodo Daniel Sule (Abuja), Hope Abah (Makurdi), Dotun Omisakin, Peter Moses (Lagos), Hameed Oyegbade (Osogbo) & Magaji Isa Hunkuyi (Jalingo)

Parents, teachers and other stakeholders have criticised the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) over its handling of the delay in conducting English Language Paper 2 in the ongoing 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) on Wednesday evening.

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This is coming after some disturbing videos and pictures emerged where candidates were shown writing the examination late at night, with some centres without good electricity and candidates had to make do with touch lights and mobile phone flashlights.

English language is one of the core subjects a student must obtain credit in to secure admission into higher institutions and thus, the examination is a must for every student who wishes to further his or her education.

Those who spoke with the Daily Trust blamed the development on the reprinting of question papers after a reported leak a few days before the exam day.

WAEC confirmed this in a statement on Thursday, apologising for delay in conducting English Language Paper 2, stating that it faced considerable challenges primarily due to its major aim of preventing leakage of any paper.

However, many parents and other Nigerians took to social media platforms to report the incidents in some states across the country and criticised the exam body for putting the life of candidates at risk.

A parent, Dorathy Makir, while speaking on the delay, said it was unacceptable for WAEC to put the lives of candidates at risk.

She said the least the council could have done was to reschedule the examination, rather than subjecting the candidates to unnecessary suffering.

“My child wrote the English language examination up till 8pm on Wednesday. It rained heavily at about that time and we all know how the state currently struggles with insecurity. This is not right,” Makir said.

Another parent, who does not want to be named, said she had to leave what she was doing at home to go to the school to wait for her daughter.

“If not that English language is an important subject, I would have taken my child home because that was a risky thing to do. Children were all tired and who knows if they still remembered what they had studied. WAEC needs to do better to avoid such occurrences again,” she said.

Reps panel issues WAEC 24-hour ultimatum to appear before it

The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies has given WAEC a 24-hour ultimatum to appear before it today to address concerns over its ongoing WASSCE.

Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Oboku Abonsizibe Oforji, issued the ultimatum on Thursday following WAEC’s failure to honour an earlier invitation to appear before the panel.

According to Oforji, the committee had invited WAEC to provide explanations over widespread complaints and irregularities observed during the ongoing examinations.

In a statement, Oforji recalled that the committee extended an invitation to WAEC on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, seeking clarification on various issues disrupting the conduct of the exams across the country.

He expressed disappointment at WAEC’s absence during the scheduled hearing on Thursday, May 29, describing it as unacceptable given the scale of public outcry over the conduct of the ongoing exams.

“The examinations have been riddled with serious irregularities. We’ve received reports of students writing exams as late as midnight in some centres across the country.

“The House felt it necessary to summon WAEC to explain these developments and the trauma candidates are currently facing. However, WAEC responded this morning, saying they couldn’t appear due to their involvement in the ongoing exams. Ironically, this is the very reason we are asking them to appear,” he said.

Oforji emphasised that the committee expects WAEC to appear before it on Friday, warning that failure to do so would compel the lawmakers to invoke the constitutional powers of the House to ensure compliance.

“Our intention is not to witch-hunt WAEC but to seek answers that will calm public tension and prevent a recurrence of these challenges. WAEC has been conducting exams for decades, and we have never experienced this level of disorganization,” he said.

‘WAEC has done injustice to students with special challenges’

A teacher at the Community Secondary School, Apir in Benue State who preferred anonymity, said the essay question papers arrived late and that was why the examination was taken at night.

“We were told the materials were brought from Enugu. The students began writing around 5pm and ended at 7pm. But the school provided a generator to supply electricity in the classrooms,” the teacher said.

In Ogun, a school principal who pleaded anonymity said questions were reprinted in Abeokuta and sent across different parts of the state.

The question papers didn’t arrive at some schools in rural areas until 8pm, it was gathered.

A teacher at Igiri High School, Ijofin, in Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, said the development affected English paper.

“They have written the Paper I which was Objective, but before they (officials) brought Paper II, it was around 8pm,” the teacher said.

According to him, the crisis also affected Community High School, Tube and other schools across Ipokia Local Government.

The teacher explained that the students wrote the exams using torchlights.

“Of course, the condition in which they wrote the exams would definitely affect their performances.

“Again, you know the examination body is trying to fight malpractice. Under such conditions, for me, the exam has lost its credibility.

“Secondly, we have students with special challenges like eye problems who could not read or write well at night. WAEC has done injustice to them.

“We have solar light donated to the school by the government with six bulbs. That’s what we used.

“Some parents came to the school to look for their children and later went back home to bring torchlights upon learning that they were going to write the exams towards the night. They gave their children torchlights and returned home, while others waited,” he said.

Another teacher in Ifo, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, said students concluded their exams around 10pm.

Some candidates who spoke to Daily Trust expressed distress after having to wait for hours to commence the examination.

One of the candidates, who identified herself as Mariam described the experience as distressing.

“I sat for the examination at Community Secondary School, Apir, on the outskirts of Makurdi metropolis. We completed the first section of the paper around 1pm, then waited without any explanation until 5pm to start the essay part. We didn’t finish until after 7pm,” she said.

Like many other students, Mariam expressed fear that the extended delay and fatigue may affect their performance in the crucial subject.

She said, “Because of the anxiety of waiting too long for the examination to begin, I’m not quite certain of getting a good credit. At one point, the school provided light in the examination hall for our use.”

Similarly, Terna Kusu, another candidate who sat for the examination said he was able to complete writing his paper at 7:15pm while the rains came down heavily and everywhere was dark.

Kusu said, “I can only hope to pass the examination because the stress was much.”

“I was only stressed, but I answered all the questions, so I am not sure if it will affect my results,” he said.

In Lagos, a candidate who wants to be identified only as Tunde said he finished his exams at 8:30pm, adding that he felt tired between the hours he ended the English language paper 1 and the time to start the paper 2.

“We ended the objectives section in the afternoon, then waited till past 6pm before we started the theory,” he said.

Another candidate, Taiwo Omisakin, expressed surprise, saying she started with objective questions before writing theory, describing it as a detour from previous exams.

She said she was confident in her answers, adding it won’t affect her results despite the exams ending late in the night.

“It was a bit stressful, but I answered all the questions, so I am not sure it will affect my results,” she said.

In Abeokuta, some students were lucky to have concluded the exam between 6pm and 7pm.

In Kisi, Oyo State, a similar scenario played out but students in schools in the community were done with their papers around 7pm.

Victor, a student of Baptist Heritage High School, Kisi, said, “We finished the exam past 6pm. We learnt it was due to a change of questions.

“If not for the delay, we ought to have concluded the exam by 4pm.”

A candidate in one of the public schools in Osogbo said: “Our school does not have electricity supply but our teachers hired a generator, yet the lighting in the hall was poor.”

Another student, who noted that the school made use of generator to ensure uninterrupted supply during the examination, said: “That was my first time writing an exam in the night. It was not conducive enough. We were even exhausted at that time. It wasn’t ideal.”

Educationists advise against reoccurrence

An educationist, Michael Sule, said what happened was unfortunate and tested our ability to take favourable decisions on examination.

“If WAEC found out that the paper leaked and they tried to change it. The best decision would have been, the moment they realized they were running against time, they should have shifted it to another day instead of putting candidates in distress,” he said.

Sule said he understands that the government is working to stop malpractice, but still going ahead with the examination at night is unacceptable considering the state of most of our schools that lack the necessary infrastructure for such an emergency, adding that such should not repeat itself again.

Another educationist, Architect Goke Omigbodun, said the exam body should guard against reoccurrence of night examination because many schools may not have electricity supply.

Abdulraheem Adekoya, HOD Humanities Department at Sanya Senior Grammar School, Lagos, described the situation as a decline of moral decadence in education, blaming it on parents, teachers and guardians who want better results for their wards at all cost.

Adekoya, whose daughter finished her exam late in the night, berated the examination body for the delay in changing the questions that leaked, calling for reforms in the country’s education sector.

“This is a national disaster. I think the way forward is when we all resolve to bring a lasting solution to it. If not, it will continue like that.

“So, I am advocating what we call educational reform, not just on paper, that would be pragmatic, that would be practical. And from the reform, it should be strongly stipulated that anyone that is caught, anyone, schools, authorities, institutions caught engaging in such should be seriously and severely dealt with,” he said.

Oladejo Abiola, a director of education in Lagos Ministry of Education whose daughter wrote her exams in Ota, Ogun, commended the effort of the examination body to halt examination malpractice.

Students trapped as classrooms collapse during exam in Taraba

Meanwhile, on the same day, hundreds of students escaped by the whiskers when the classrooms in which they were sitting for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination caved in.

The incident happened at Government Secondary School, Namne, Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State.

The classrooms collapsed during a heavy rainfall which was accompanied by a windstorm.

The students and their invigilators were trapped in the collapsed classrooms for hours before some residents rescued them.

A resident, Alhaji DanAzumi Lauris, told Daily Trust that it was the second set of students that the classrooms collapsed on, as the first set had finished their exams and left the school premises.

He said the incident occurred around 6pm on Wednesday.

DanAzumi stated that the injured students and teachers were moved to Primary Healthcare Centre located a few meters away from the school to receive treatment.

He said apart from the school, the storm destroyed many houses in the community.

In Jalingo town, many students went back home after 1am as a result of heavy rainfall which started when they were writing their exams. The rainfall lasted hours, preventing many of them from going back home till after 1am.

Atiku wants re-sit for affected candidates

Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar  took to his Facebook page to lend his voice to the issue.

He wrote: “The recent report of students sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination in appallingly dark and unfit conditions across the country is nothing short of a national disgrace. That this outrage occurred just a day after the world marked International Children’s Day only deepens the shame.

“This is not merely an unfortunate incident — it is a damning indictment of our systemic failure to uphold the most basic standards in public education. It is unacceptable, unjustifiable, and utterly indefensible that in 2025, our children are forced to write critical national exams in pitch darkness like second-class citizens.

“This incident must awaken our national conscience. It must compel immediate and sustained investment in critical social infrastructure, with education as the foremost priority — not in rhetoric but in tangible action.

“I therefore demand, unequivocally, that the affected examination paper be retaken in all compromised centres. Anything less would be a grave injustice to the students whose futures hang in the balance.

“Examination preparedness is a shared responsibility between students and the examination authorities. In this case, it is glaringly evident that the latter have failed spectacularly in their duty. It would be utterly unjust to allow students to suffer the consequences of such gross institutional negligence.

“Going forward, it is imperative that relevant authorities establish and enforce minimum environmental and infrastructural standards for all high-stakes national examinations. We must never allow such a shameful scenario to repeat itself — not under our watch,” he concluded.

WAEC apologises for delay

In a statement signed by Moyosola  Adesina, Head, Public Affairs,  West African Examinations Council, the examination body apologised for the inconveniences that stemmed from the delay in the examination.

“WAEC acknowledges the challenges currently being faced during the conduct of WASSCE for school candidates 2025, including the delay in the timely conduct of English Language Paper 2.

“While maintaining the integrity and security of our examination, we faced considerable challenges primarily due to our major aim of preventing leakage of any paper. While we successfully achieved our objective, it inadvertently impacted the timeliness and seamless conduct of the examination,” the statement read.

The examination body also said plans are underway to collaborate with security agencies in an attempt to prevent similar incidents.

“Despite our best efforts, we encountered logistical hurdles, security concerns, and sociocultural factors that negatively influenced our operations. In order to forestall future occurrences of this nature, the council is currently collaborating with security agencies.

“We recognise the importance of timely conduct of examinations and the impact of this decision on the candidates, their schools and parents, and we sincerely apologise for any inconveniences caused.

“The West African Examinations Council appreciates the understanding and support of all stakeholders during this period. We remain committed to upholding the highest standard in the conduct of examinations and shall continue to promote academic excellence,” the statement reads.