The Academic Staff Union of Universities {ASUU} has said it supports the Federal Governments decision to stop SS3 students from partaking in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination which was scheduled to commence August 4th. 
The union advised that the Federal Government shuts down schools in Nigeria until 2021 in the bid to ensure adequate preparations, citing Kenya as a reference saying they too have exams too but have also suspended schooling activities in the country until January 2021.
It was reported that the Federal Ministry of Education met with officials of the West African Examination Council in Abuja and had resolved to announce a new date for the Senior Secondary School 3 Examinations. The Minister Of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, also revealed that FG was in discussions with 4 other countries under the WAEC to set a new date for the exams together while announcing mandatory COVID-19 guidelines for schools which must be met before July 29.
READ ALSO: The Rape Bill Is Discriminatory And Targeted At Male Lecturers – ASUU
In reaction to this the President of ASUU, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, reacted to the news and gave his recommendations in an interview with The Punch, he said no reasonable would take such chances unless parents would be asked to sign an undertaking.
Ogunyemi said,
“Look, Kenya has said they have closed all their schools till next year (2021); they too have exams to write. Safety first. If it means closing the schools until next year to safeguard the lives of Nigerian children and safeguard the health of all Nigerians, so be it.
“So, if that will help us to address cases that can lead to increase in mortality, I think Nigerians should go that way and all of us should see reason for it. If they need to cancel admission for the year, it is good for them. Life matters first, people must have life first before they can go to university. Are the universities ready to work now?
“Our position is that they should not experiment with the lives of our children. Nobody can tell; the situation may soon normalise and they can do their exams and there is another opportunity for external candidates around November. So, it’s not as if the door is totally closed.”
The ASUU president added that the union had not seen any evidence to show that schools were secured for students to go back.
He said,
“The first thing that should be tackled is whether schools are safe. And if the schools are not safe, why do you want to carry out an experiment with the lives of our children? An attempt to send back the children to school at a time there is a spike in COVID-19 cases in Nigeria is like experimenting with the lives of our children.
“If they put all the things in place, including social and physical distancing, sanitisers, kitting the children as we see in other places, decontamination with water flowing in the schools and all the gadgets, why not? So, if government can meet all these conditions, then they can reopen the schools. But if they cannot meet all these conditions, they should not experiment with even 10 students in any school.”
Photo Credit: Getty
