My ears blustered, my eyes filled with tears and my heart bled sorrow upon hearing that the long-awaited 2016 Liberia High Schools Certificate Examination (also known as WAEC) has been postponed to late June.
I thought it was just a mere joke and falsehood, which certain individuals were whooping around with the aim to distract students from studying and remaining focused, since in fact many Liberians were already beginning to say that there will be many Division I (one) students and many more students will pass this year’s WAEC exams.
Sadly, this turned out to be different. The speculations that WAEC has been postponed turned to be truthful and, listening to radio stations during the afternoon hours of Sunday (May 22, 2016), media reports confirmed it as well. What a penitential news?
But the tragedy and the unclear issue, which continues to hurly-burly my intellect and that of many students as well as many Liberians is the news about some individuals, who stole some of the question booklets few hours prior to the commencement of the WAEC exams.
It is an open secret that WAEC question booklets are always watched and guarded by security officers, including the Liberian National Police.
Holding this constant, how did some people enter the school’s building in Konola to make away with question booklets? Who were the security officers on hired to keep eyes on the booklets?
Did WAEC/Ministry of Education have people there, who were as well aiding in the watchful keeping of the booklets? Is it that the security officers conspired with the thieves to steal some booklets or is it a conspiracy by some WAEC/MoE employees to make relatives and friends pass the WAEC exams?
Isn’t it possible that teachers were also involved, since in fact it is on records that teachers are normally found during whatsoever they desire to acquire money during WAEC exams week? Lastly, could it be that WAEC examiner(s) or plotters in Margibi County must have revealed the where-about of the booklets the individual (s) who stole the questionnaires? These are uncomfortable questions, but we must ask them.
Now, let me conclude by stating that, “the 2016 WAEC exams should not have been postponed to a later date. The examinations could have continued had the Ministry of Education/WAEC authority banned Margibi County from writing the test with other counties until proper investigation is done. This could have been a wise decision”.
Measures could have also been taken, including using internet providers, to detect the transfer of the stolen questions to students. We are in the age of technology and modernization; therefore we must think and act differently.
There were already thousands of young people, the quote unquote Ebola-seniors, thirstily waiting to write this year’s WAEC exams, to enable them enroll at various universities/colleges after sitting for several months.
But Sunday became one of the days of disappointment in their lives, having heard the news. Regrettably also, the current 12th graders are also victimized. They all must now wait for June 27 to write the WAEC exams.
In April 2016, some WASSCE (West African Senior School Certificate Examination) questionnaires got leaked in Ghana, but the West African Examinations Council did not cancel the exams. The leaked papers included the Paper 2 of English language, Religious and Moral Education, Integrated Science, Mathematics and Social Studies.
May God bless us and save our country from the hands of destruction and may peace continue to reign in our hearts and minds!
Abraham M. Keita VI,
2015 International Children’s Peace Prize winner
Founder, Giving Hope To Children Foundation – Liberia
