Follow Us on Google
From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Imo State Government has explained why some candidates wrote the Common Entrance and First School Leaving Certificate examinations late into last Friday night.
In a statement dated July 18 and signed by the Honourable Commissioner for Primary and Secondary Education, Prof. Bernard-Thompson Ikegwuoha, the ministry said the exams were conducted successfully across the state, except in “pockets of centres” in Owerri West, Owerri Municipal, and Owerri North.
The ministry said supervisors in those centres delivered Paper 2 question papers for the FSLC very late to the halls, forcing candidates to write the exam at night.
The commissioner apologised to affected candidates, parents, guardians, and stakeholders for “the disruption and anxiety caused.” He attributed part of the lapse to his absence. “Following my emergency medical trip overseas, there was a lapse in supervision,” the statement read. Some supervisors, the ministry added, gave “flimsy excuses, including that ‘it rained for two days’” as reason for the delay in getting the question papers to the halls.
The ministry has listed immediate steps taken to avert such lapses in future. The commissioner said he has returned and has taken “total and absolute control” of all remaining examinations.
“An investigative panel will be set up to determine what went wrong and to sanction those found culpable, in line with Public Service Rules. Heads will certainly roll for these lapses. We will not tolerate any act that jeopardises the future of our children,” Prof. Ikegwuoha stated.
Despite the delays, the ministry said the examinations were eventually concluded in all centres. It reaffirmed its commitment to a “credible, timely, and transparent examination process for Imo children” and thanked parents for their patience.
