Kakata, Margibi County – The 10 eleventh graders who were controversially registered by the administration of the Booker Washington Institute in Margibi County to write this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) were Thursday morning forcibly removed from the examinations hall.
Report By Yawah Y. Jaivey, Contributor
Authorities of the West African Examination Council on Wednesday, April 24, kicked off the nationwide conduct of the WASSCE exams.
Senior students of BWI had earlier lambasted the school administration for registering the juniors and called on the Ministry of Education to investigate the situation.
On Thursday, they were seen forcibly taken out of the testing hall by top administrators of the school due to the Ministry of Education discontentment over the school decided to have them write the most acclaim regional Exams.
According to the report, the MOE demanded that the school discontinue the process because it was not legal and further contravene the regulations and criteria set up by WAEC for the registration of candidates.
The BWI’s administration through its communications officer last week told FPA that the Ministry through its county office was aware of the school’s decision. But school’s claim was later denied by the acting County Education Officer of Margibi County, James G. Gaye.
After they were removed from the hall, the students, in a somewhat agitated mood, accused the school administration of misleading them and faking their status in order to get them to sit the regional exams as senior students.
Student Kalifa M. Sackor, Jr. said the administration misled them to believe that their inclusion among the senior students to write this year’s WASSCE exams was a pilot project that met the acquiescence of the country educational stakeholders including the Ministry of Education and the West Africa Examination Council.
“It was in November last year that when we were informed by administration that we were going to write the WASSCE and the Ministry of Education, WAEC and the senior class were all aware of what we about to do. With that information, we devoted our time in studying so that we can come out with flying color,” said student Kalifa.
Another junior student, Fabena W. Barduae, speaking as tears roll down her cheek, told an FPA reporter that it was “disheartening to be made to exert so many efforts in studying and such effort be made worthless due to blunder from administration”.
The students are calling on the MOE and the West African Examination Council to blame the BWI administration.
They want MOE and WAEC to keenly reconsider them to re-register for the next year examinations as senior secondary candidates.
They expressed fear that if that is not done, they won’t have the opportunity to rewrite the examinations next year as first time candidatfirst-timely as re-sitter candidates. When contacted, Sam-Sumo Bahbor, BWI’s Media Marketing and Public Relations Officer, said he could not speak to the report because it has not reach his office, but promised to comment in due course.
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