The Nigerian government has reiterated the indefinite postponement of this year’s West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, made the stance of the government known at the daily Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja on Tuesday.
“We have announced that WAEC and NECO for the year have been postponed. This postponement is indefinite at the moment,” he said.
Both examinations were slated for May and June 2020.
The government had on March 19 ordered the immediate closure of all tertiary, secondary and primary schools as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 virus.
Nwajiuba said the federal government is working on options for schools to reopen.
He noted that nobody can reopen schools until all efforts have been coordinated by the government.
“We will also be looking at what we will do for schools to reopen.
As you recall, we asked that schools be vacated in the last part of March 2020 as soon as this pandemic broke out.
“The lockdown in various parts of the country will definitely affect whether students and teachers come to school or not.
“So nobody can reopen schools until we have coordinated all efforts,” he said.
He further explained that some provisions have been made for students to learn online.
“We have made provisions available online. The Directorate of Information and Communication Technology has opened a portal.
“In conjunction with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the coordinating agency will anchor an alliance with State Universal Basic Education Boards in all the states so that they can key into our design,” he said.