WAEC Under Fire As Parents Demand Cancellation Of English Exam

Strong criticism has continued to trail the mass failure recorded in this year’s Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), with many parents and education stakeholders demanding the cancellation and re-conduction of key papers, especially English Language.

The outrage comes as the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) condemned the conduct of examinations during nighttime hours, calling it unacceptable and detrimental to students’ performance.

Only 38.32% of candidates passed English Language and Mathematics at credit level—two critical subjects required for university admission—sparking widespread concern.

Parents under the banner of the Concerned Parents and Educators Network (CPE) blamed the failure on irregularities in the examination process, particularly the late-hour timing of the English Language paper.

Adegoke Bimpe Atoke, writing on the CPE platform, expressed outrage: “Almighty WAEC has done it again. Mass failure in Mathematics and English. 450-word essays written with a phone torchlight at 10:30 pm under the rain, with candidates swatting mosquitoes. How did we arrive here?”

She added: “Our systems need drastic, strategic, urgent reforms. I can’t even eat. I have lost my appetite. Which way is forward? If WAEC is not working, can we have a better alternative that reflects our country’s context?”

Another concerned parent, Abiodun Adesanya Adeleke, also demanded that the English Language exam be retaken, citing disturbing reports of students writing under mosquito-infested conditions late into the night.

“Students writing exams till past 9:00 pm with torchlight? How do we call that a standardised exam?” he asked.

Educators have also weighed in. Adebayo Ifeoluwa, a teacher in a Lagos public school, questioned the breakdown in scheduling: “No exam is meant to be written at night. Who is responsible for the mismanagement?”

Rex Oscar added: “Some will say students didn’t read, but how do you explain that even those who performed well in JAMB failed English? Over 70% of SS3 students can’t be lazy. Something is clearly wrong.”

Adetoun Aremu suggested a total rewrite of both English Language and Mathematics, while Ifeoma Eucharia lamented that even after all the hardship, candidates still failed in large numbers.

With pressure mounting, many are calling for a full investigation into WAEC’s conduct of the exams and urgent reforms to prevent such occurrences in the future.