Students in Imo State are going to participate in the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Commissioner for Education in the state, Bernard Ikegwuoha disclosed this during an audience participatory programme on Heartland FM Radio monitored by EduCeleb.com.
He said that preliminary measures in line with the COVID-19 protocols were being put in place to ensure that candidates registered for the 2020 WASSCE write it.
Already, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) had fixed 4th August to 5th September for the sub-regional exams.
Ikegwuoha, a professor, did not particularly specify when the students would resume classes ahead of the exam.
In his words, “Imo state students will take WAEC examination without a doubt. The Governor, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodinma will soon announce the resumption date. That is for sure”.
He however pointed out that a number of measures were considered by the state government for strict compliance by the schools and parents in order to forestall spread of COVID-19, while students are in school.
Among such is that every school was expected to resuscitate Parents Teachers Association (PTA) to ensure that NCDC protocols against COVID-19 is driven by both Parents and Teachers.
Also, parents will take responsibility for their children/wards protection with specificity to the provision of Face Masks for their children and themselves.
In that line as well, parents were to ensure that they take their children to school and equally take them home after school and examination each day.
For students, the wearing of face masks, maintaining social distance, avoiding handshake or hugging and the sanitisation of their hands regularly was mandatory.
Ikegwuoha further noted that the Ministry of Education will work in conjunction with Secondary School Management Board (SSMB) to ensure that all public schools are fumigated and the environment decontaminated; as well as provide buckets, soaps and sanitizers for all the schools.
In the meantime, other sets of students would continue to be engaged in the e-learning programme.
The Commissioner explained that they will be as government is working with telecommunications companies to provide internet services at a very reduced cost to relieve parents the burden of staggering cost of data.
He therefore appealed to parents to meaningfully engage their children and wards until schools resume.
Earlier, EduCeleb.com reported that students in federal colleges popularly called unity schools would not be participating in the WASSCE based on safety concerns expressed by Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu.
Also, nineteen states in Northern Nigeria have towed the same line like the Federal Government’s on the situation saying that they were not able to guarantee the health safety of candidates in their domains.
With Imo indicating participation, this makes I the eighth state in Nigeria to confirm that so far.
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