Private school owners in Ogun State have raised alarm over tough rules set by the state government for students to register for the May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Speaking anonymously, the proprietors warned that if the issues are not quickly fixed, more than 70 per cent of private school students in the state could miss this year’s WASSCE.
They said that while schools in other states have mostly completed WAEC registration, private schools in Ogun are struggling due to new government compliance rules.
One proprietor explained that the main problem is the mandatory Learner Identification Number (LIN) required for WASSCE registration.
“The issue we are having with the government revolves around making it mandatory for the students to be registered for the WASSCE to have a Learner Identification Number.
“Though the LIN is usually given to students by the government once enrolled in any school in the state, be it public or private, there has been so much chaos, complaints and challenges with the online platform through which these numbers are generated.
“We were formerly on OGSERA, but recently we have migrated to DIPER. However, there have been so many problems with the platform; some students whose names were originally registered on the platform can no longer find their names.”
He added that students who transferred from other states without LIN face even more hurdles.
“The government has also demanded that the SS3 students who probably migrated from another state into the state and joined our schools in SS2 and are without the LIN should produce their JSS3 certificates in addition to their first, second and third term results from their former schools in SS1 and SS2 before such students could be registered for WASSCE,” he said.
The proprietor stressed that the timeframe to meet these requirements is too short.
“We are even wondering where all of these conditions are coming from because this is not the case in any state around us.
“And even if we say that we want to fulfil these conditions, the time is not just there. Some of these students may not even be able to produce their results because of some circumstances beyond their control.
“We are saying that the government should allow us to register these children because the time they rolled out these policies and the time for implementation is too short.
“We therefore plead with the government to shelve this policy for now because if the government fails to shift ground, nothing less than 70 per cent of students in private schools in the state will not sit for the examination.”
Another school owner agreed, saying the timeline for compliance is unrealistic.
“We also want the state to move forward, but our policies must wear a human face.
“Asking us to produce the SS1 and SS2 first, second and third term results of students who came from other states and are now in SS3 before we can register them for WASSCE within the time frame is not realistic.
“The WAEC registration schedule has been extended about two or three times; the registration can close anytime from now. That is why we are begging for Governor Dapo Abiodun’s intervention.
“The governor should please prevail on the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Abayomi Arigbabu, to put on hold this policy until we are given sufficient notice, maybe against next year for the implementation of this policy,” he said.
In a separate statement, another proprietor warned that more than 70 per cent of private school SS3 students risk missing the exam if the matter is not addressed.
“The major concern is that students who previously had valid LIN on the system are now unable to retrieve or verify them.
“Despite these technical inconsistencies, the state has insisted that no student will be cleared for WAEC registration unless properly validated on the platforms.
“Public policy must always wear a human face. In seeking to correct irregularities within the system, care must be taken not to punish compliant schools and innocent students because of the misconduct of a few,” he added.
A viral message circulating on Sunday and addressed to the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly also warned that up to 700,000 private school students could miss the examination if the issues are not resolved.
In response, Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Abayomi Arigbabu, said the government’s actions aim to curb examination malpractice.
He explained that the LIN, introduced about five years ago, allows the state to maintain proper records of all students in public and private schools.
“Every student schooling in the state is supposed to have the Learner Identification Number. It is what every student is given once you are registered in any school in the state, and this is what we started five years ago, so it is not something you should be looking for when you are in SS3,” he said.
Arigbabu dismissed claims that the policy is punitive.
“Many of these private schools will register all kinds of persons for WASSCE, and I don’t even have problems with that, but most of the candidates registered won’t be the ones sitting for the examination.
“So, if you cannot produce the LIN, we will definitely know that you have something up your sleeves. For those having genuine problems with their LIN due to technical glitches, we are addressing that genuinely,” he added.
He maintained that while the government will consider genuine complaints, it will not compromise on efforts to clean up the examination process.
“We are very keen to sanitise the entire process, and we shall definitely look at those with genuine complaints, but I can tell you that many of those complaining are actually feeling the heat.
“We have continued to block every leakage to fight these challenges and we won’t relent,” he said.
