By Chinyere Nwachukwu/Funmilayo Adeyemi/Jacinta Nwachukwu
Abuja – Stakeholders in the education sector on Saturday decried the ban of private school teachers from invigilating the West African Examination Council’s examinations.
The stakeholders spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja and Lagos on Saturday.
The examination body had issued a directive banning private school teachers from supervising its examinations over allegations that they aid students to commit malpractices.
A don, Prof. Ismail Junaidu, said that there should be no reason for West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to exclude private school teachers from its invigilation.
Junaidu, who is the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), observed that private schools teachers were always part of the Nigerian education system.
He said if WAEC noticed any anomalies in the teachers’ invigilation the council should call them to order.
‘‘Private schools are part and parcel of Nigerian education system whether we like it or not, so the best is if there is anomaly they should try and correct it and continue to carry them along.
‘‘So, if WAEC find them to have some deficiencies either in terms of the way they conduct their invigilation or otherwise there should be room for correction.
‘‘The council should examine its reasons for stopping private school teachers and try to take it out of the way to enable the teachers participate in the invigilation,’’ he said.
Also, Mrs Samira Jubril, the President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), FCT Chapter, urged the government to ensure it carries along the private schools in any of its dealings.
According to her, the issue is that we should always do what is right, but in this country we find it difficult to do what is right and that is why we are not growing.
‘‘It’s not a new thing. They have their reasons. The fact is that the government is not carrying the private schools along.
‘‘These children writing the WAEC examinations are our children. They should let us know the reason behind the ban.
‘‘However, whatever we are doing, we should ensure that the people used are qualified irrespective of religion and ethnicity.
‘‘There are schools in the villages that I have supervised and the teachers used are not even qualified.
‘‘But if the invigilators used by WAEC are qualified, there is every possibility that they will be able to do the jobs very well,’’ she said.
Also, the Association of Christian Schools in Nigeria has threathened that it would direct its members to boycott the West African Examination Council (WAEC) if the body does not reverse its decision banning all private school teachers from invigilating its examinations.
Mrs Ekaete Ettang, the president of the association, said WAEC must reverse its decision and “planned implementation”.
She said: “In view of the above, the association of Christian schools demands that WAEC cancels the order and revert to status quo where credible teachers from Christian schools in Nigeria were involved in the supervision of WAEC examination.
“Failure to do so, all Christian schools nationwide will withdraw from future WAEC examinations, if WAEC does not reverse this decision and planned implementation.
“WAEC and ministries of education must provide statistics to show the trend in the examination malpractices across the schools, which forms the basis of their decision.”
NAN recalls that the President of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Ishaq Akintola, had also warned the WAEC to fix its examination timetable to accommodate the Friday jummat prayer or risk disruption of the examinations by Muslims.
He said there is no reason for preventing private school teachers from participating in the invigilation of WAEC exams.
However, the Head, Public Affairs of the council, Mr Damianus Ojijeogu had confirmed in an interview with NAN in Lagos that WAEC will do away with teachers of private schools to invigilate its examinations.
Ojijeogu said that decision was taken as a measure to reduce the rate of examination malpractice.
“To ensure that we reduce the rate of malpractice, we have decided to do away with teachers of private schools with effect from this year’s examinations.
“From past experiences, we have discovered that most of the incidences of malpractice are usually in collaboration with these set of teachers.
“One of the key players in most cases of examination malpractice is the supervisors and most of whom have been discovered to come from the private schools.
“These supervisors are usually the first to get the papers from the custodian point en route to the examination halls,’’ Ojijeogu said.
He said that WAEC, however, could consider using such supervisors only in cases where there is no other option.
“We are trying to look at issues we have been having in terms of examination malpractice, in cases reported and actions taken among others.
“We look at these issues and those involved, side by side teachers from the public schools.
“In the case of teachers from the public schools, they hardly get involved because they know if they are caught, they will have a lot to lose.
“For instance, teachers of public schools belong to an umbrellas association such as the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) and could be reported to the association for necessary actions if found culpable.
“In this case, too, they might have a lot to lose in terms of their pensions.
“All these are what we have looked at closely in relations to the trends over the years.’’
Meanwhile, the WAEC spokesman said the board was happy with the smooth conduct of the ongoing 2018 May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates nationwide.
According to him, so far, there has not been any reported hitch in the conduct of the examination.
“The council is optimistic that the entire exercise will be concluded on a happy note.
“So far, the examination has been going on well in centres across the country.
“Prior to the commencement of the examination, we had ensured that adequate logistics are made available in order to ensure a hitch-free process. (NAN)