...Cancellation puts Nigeria at more risk – Atiku

Meanwhile, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the cancellation of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) held annually by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), is not in Nigeria’s best interest.

Atiku in a statement, yesterday said at a time of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it was understandable that an abundance of caution be put in place to save lives.

Atiku, said 1.5 million

Nigerian youths write the West African Senior School Certificate Examination annually, adding that to abruptly cancel the examination is to set back the nation’s youth, and place them behind their contemporaries in other West African nations.

“It is perilous, because Foreign Direct Investments and other economic indicators are tied to the educational indexes of nations.

“Already, Nigeria lags behind other African nations in crucial indices, like school enrolment, pass rates, and out of school children. This action, will further create chaos in the public education system and exacerbate an already bad situation.

He added that rather than cancelling, mobilisation of all available public and private infrastructures including primary schools, stadia, and cinemas, for the examinations will be practicable. “In the alternative, the Federal Government can prevail on WAEC to have a staggered examination with a different set of questions for each shift. Doing so will allow WAEC Nigeria implement social distancing and achieve the goal of carrying out the examinations. A win-win scenario,” he said.