The Federal Government has announced that the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will commence on August 17, 20220.
Emeka Nwajiuba, Minister of State for Education, who announced this at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 meeting on Monday, said the exaamination will start with subjects common to all English speaking countries of West Africa ( (Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia) on that date.
The subjects peculiar to Nigeria candidates will be taken from September 5 through September 14, 2020.
Nwajiuba said all the state commissioners for Education and governors have agreed that all schools will open in Nigeria from August 3. This is to prepare the students for the WASSC.
“This varies the timetable we agitated earlier by as much as two weeks. What the agreement entails is WAEC West Africa and all the country that are in it have agreed that the exams should proceed, but the exams peculiar to Nigeria will be taken from September 5 through to September 14,” he said.
He said Nigeria will then proceed to “domesticate its own timetable for the exams.”
“The exams that are common to all the countries of West Africa will proceed as previously published on August 17. This today was accepted by every state in Nigeria and endorsed by the Presidential Task Force today at our meeting. Revision classes begin from today,” he said.
The government also said exit classes in secondary schools will resume August 4 to enable SS3 students have two weeks to prepare for the WASSCE.
Ben Goong, Spokesman of the Federal Ministry of Education, in a press statement, said the a virtual consultative meeting between the Federal Ministry of Education, Commissioners of Education of the 36 states, Nigerian Union of Teachers, (NUT), the proprietors of private schools, and chief executives of the examination bodies held on Monday agreed a passionate appeal was to be made to the Federal Government through the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and public-spirited Nigerians for assistance to schools across the country to enable them fast track the preparations for safe reopening, as agreed.
He said another meeting would hold Tuesday between the Federal Ministry of Education and chief executives of examination bodies namely, NECO, NABTEB and NBAIS, to harmonise their examination dates. He said the outcome of the meeting would be conveyed to stakeholders expeditiously by the Federal Ministry of Education.
