By Ayo Olanipekun
Nobody had expected that COVID-19 would wreak so much havoc. All the sectors, all areas of human endeavour, suffered unquantifiable loss, including education.
Though many are putting the losses after them and have moved on with life, a body like the National Examination Board (NECO) is still confused on what to do.
Despite the ravaging effect of Covid-19 pandemic, the WAEC was able to successfully conduct the 2020 SSCE, but NECO unfortunately couldn’t.
Some outstanding papers like Chemistry Practical, Economics, Technical Drawing and Commerce are still pending and it is worrisome that the NECO has kept mute putting these innocent students who had enrolled for the exams in a kind of suspense.
Right now, hopes of millions of NECO 2020 Senior Secondary Certificate Examination ( SSCE) candidates are hanging, especially those who want to pursue courses in engineering, environmental sciences and management sciences, to mention a few.
If the WAEC could conduct its examinations successfully, it is an indictment on the part of the present NECO management not to do the same.
Could this be the expectations of the founding fathers and Nigerian citizens, 20 years ago?
When similar things happened in both Northeast and Northwest during the 2018 NECO SSCE, NECO was able to remedy this by conducting make-up exams for the students who missed the exams when they were shifted.
The present NECO management must wake up from its slumber.
The body should not allow the NECO to go into extinction because if this is not remedied, no parents will want their children to write the NECO exams again.
With the current NECO management attitude, the world education body could withdraw recognition of the NECO Certificate. In fact, some schools are already losing interest in the body.
Now that the 2020 NECO SSCE marking is about to commence on Monday, what is the fate of these innocent children?
What now is the effect of JAMB delaying 2020/ 2021 admissions because of NECO results?
The information being gathered is that these students will sit for the November/ December exams coming up in February/ March 2021. What is the fate of the students as well as the parents?
It is high time the Federal Ministry of Education, Parents Teachers Association (PTA) and so on wade into it.
Ayo Olanipekun writes from Osogbo, Osun State
