IGOLO NJABA MOVES MOTION OF URGENT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE AGAINST WAEC ILLEGAL FINES ON 266 IMO SCHOOLS.
The Member representing Njaba State Constituency and the house committee Chairman on Education, Gender development and Vulnerable affairs of the Imo State house of Assembly, Dr.Uju Jovita Onwudiwe(Igolo Njaba) has totally condemned and described as unacceptable the fines imposed on 266 Secondary Schools in Imo State by the West African Examination council (Waec) for an alleged examination malpractice.
After presenting a comprehensive analysis and implications of the said action by Waec on the concerned schools, students and the parents on the floor of the house, the law maker calls for an immediate action on the matter by the state government for a quick and timely resolution.
According to her motion, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is saddled with the responsibility of organising various examinations including but not limited to, the West African Senior Secondary Schools Certificate Examination (SSCE).
She further noted that, Imo State has been known to be a state that maintains the highest level of enrolment in WAEC examinations and UTME examinations, a record that puts Imo state in the lead where academic institutions have high potential of patronage,
Her motion went further to explain that, schools prepare candidates for Senior Secondary School Examinations (SSCE) do so and there is procedure which WAEC as an examination body operates to conduct examinations at accredited and approved centres, such procedures involved filling of malpractice incidence forms. The candidate may be urged to sign and the principal of the school will be requested to sign-off the form, the examiner cum the supervisor, must fill forms to establish prima-facie evidence of malpractice,
Noting that there is no form of generalisation of allegation of malpractice where the supervisors and the invigilators do not have any malpractice incidence form filled and submitted within the conduct of the SSC Examination in any and all the centres,
Noting also that should any candidate be caught in an act of malpractice, the candidate faces penalty which could amount to seizure of the candidate’s result, but such does not have any extended penalty to the host school, and does not also have any implication on the teachers from the school,
Realising that alleged malpractice levelled against any particular set of students in the course of their examination should not have interpolative effect over a succeeding set of candidates who had no hand in the alleged misconduct and therefore should not be liable to any form of de-recognition of centre thereby throwing a whole generation of candidates into untold hardship of sort,
The motion continued that, the de-recognition of 266 secondary schools out of the number of approved examination centres in Imo State, 122 schools are of private and 144 schools are public, is an embarrassing situation and an afront on the psyche of Imolites as nothing whatsoever should warrant such de-recognition,
Igolo Njaba as she is popularly called affirmed that, WAEC has unilaterally imposed a fine of N500,000.00 on each alleged school, without any evidence of malpractice documented against them, and also without any approved policy and upgrade of laws establishing the examination body, there conduct and penalties to be apportioned to stakeholders,
Noting further that WAEC has in addition to compulsory taxing of candidates for supervision fees, further sanctioned the alleged schools to pay additional N150,000.00 per year per school, for another two years for WAEC external invigilators, if they must come to conduct SSC Exams in those affected schools,
Onwudiwe, also reminded the house, that WACE has imposed various forms of sanctions on the purported schools, their teachers and their future candidates, an action that infringes on human rights of our students, detrimental to the future of the thousands of students who should take their examinations soon, and an aberration on the procedure of conduct of public affairs and an act of injustice meted out on the whole imolites.
The honorable speaker of the house, Rt.Hon.Barr. Kennedy Ibeh later ruled on the motion and fixed a date for a meeting with the examination authority.
This motion was seconded by
Hon.Eddy Obinna of Aboh Mbaise state Constituency, while the Deputy Speaker of the house, Rt. Hon. Amara Iwuanyanwu, Isiala Mbano State Constituency member, Rt. Hon. Chiiji Collins, Hon Kanayo Onyemaechi(house Majority Leader), the member representing Orlu state Constituency Hon. Okolie , as well as Hon. Dominic Ezerioha of Oru-west State Constituency respectively supported the motion and call for the invitation of WAEC authorities for a plenary interface.
