Downpour, logistics extend Imo exams to 7 pm                                                                                                                    

What was expected to be a routine examination day turned into a prolonged ordeal for pupils in Imo State on Friday as heavy downpour and logistical delays pushed the First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) and Common Entrance examinations to about 7 p.m.

According to an eyewitness report, primary school pupils wrote the examinations into the night as the exercise lingered well past 7 pm across schools.

“The children had left home early in the morning under a heavy downpour to meet up with the examinations scheduled for 9 am, but the rain delayed the arrival of the materials to the different centres,” the report read in part.

Many parents and guardians who accompanied their children and wards to the different examination centres were forced to seek refuge and shelter to avoid being drenched, and were waiting for their children to conclude the examinations as scheduled, but were shocked that the questions papers could not arrive at the various schools by 4 pm.

“From Shell Camp Primary School, Kingdom Heritage Model School, World Bank Primary School, and Barclays International School Irete, among others, many of the parents stayed in their cars, shops, and badgers, as they stood under a downpour waiting for their children to conclude the examinations,” a concerned parent said.

Chukwudi, one of the concerned parents, expressed his disappointment with the organisers when he stated, “Whoever is in charge of common entrance examination and first leaving school certificate examination in Imo State, whether the education commissioner or whoever, should be sacked.

“They are incompetent and unorganised. Pupils are still taking local exams till 6:30 pm. Shame on the organisers.”

Chinwe, another concerned parent, commenting on this via her social media, stated, “Imo State educational system is zero. 8 pm, children who left their homes before 8 am amidst the heavy rain are still out in the cold writing the FSLC exam that was scheduled to be held before now, and was moved twice.”

A parent at the Shell Camp examination centre lamented that some parents helped their children to engage in examination malpractice under the guise of providing lights with their phone torches to help the pupils see the questions in the dark.

According to a cross-section of parents, the only reason given for the examination delay was the late arrival of question papers and answer sheets.

At the Shell Camp Primary School centre, a parent lamented that the questions were inadequate, as pupils were asked to share or write in batches.

The parent who pleaded anonymity said, “Can you imagine the psychological trauma that these children under 12 years have endured all day.

“They woke up early, braved the heavy rains to get to their centres amidst the cold. Many are hungry and exhausted but still have to write the exam at 7 pm.

It’s a huge failure of the system. The education ministry has failed us all. And to imagine that some people may be heading to far distance under the same rains,” he said.

Bernard Ikegwuoha, the commissioner for primary and secondary education in Imo State, and the ministry of education in the state, is yet to issue any statement on this ugly development.

Recall that pupils in Imo State were mandated to write two critical examinations, the first school-leaving certificate and common entrance examination into secondary schools, on the same day, which ordinarily should not be.

Primary school pupils are mandated to write the FSLC examination and common entrance examinations as qualifying examinations before they can gain admission into secondary school in Nigeria.