Parents across Nigeria gathered outside examination centres on Tuesday, demanding answers from the West African Examinations Council after the West African Senior School Certificate Examination stretched well past sunset for the second time this season. The delays have left thousands of students sitting for crucial papers under dim lighting, with some centres unable to complete testing before 8 pm.
Exams extend into darkness
The West African Senior School Certificate Examination, the qualifying test for university admission across the region, encountered severe scheduling bottlenecks at multiple centres. In Lagos, Kano, and Enugu, invigilators reported that papers scheduled to begin at 8 am did not start until midday due to late delivery of materials. Students who finally sat down to write found themselves still working as classrooms grew dark.
A parent in Lagos, Chinyere Okafor, described watching her daughter complete an economics paper by flashlight. "My child was writing by phone torch because the school had no generator. This is not acceptable for a national examination," she told Vanguard News.
Parents voice anger over logistics failures
The West African Examinations Council, the examining body responsible for administering the examination across six West African nations, has faced mounting criticism over its logistical capacity. Parents in Port Harcourt and Abuja held impromptu demonstrations outside examination venues, calling for the organisation's leadership to be held accountable.
Emmanuel Adeyemi, whose son sat the biology paper in Kano, said the family had taken the day off work to ensure his child arrived on time, only to wait five hours for the question papers to arrive. "We wasted an entire day. WAEC is playing with our children's future," he said.
The cost of examination delays
The ripple effects extend beyond immediate frustration. Nigerian universities begin their admission processes within weeks of the WASSCE results being released. Any significant delay in marking or processing could push results into July, directly threatening students' chances of securing places for the upcoming academic year. Universities typically finalise their admission lists by August.
WAEC promises investigation
The West African Examinations Council issued a statement acknowledging "operational challenges" at several centres but stopped short of confirming exactly how many examination halls were affected. The organisation said it had launched an internal review and would release findings within 14 days. Officials at the Abuja headquarters declined to specify which regions experienced the worst delays.
Education observers point to chronic underfunding and inadequate transportation infrastructure as root causes. The examination covers subjects ranging from mathematics to literature and science, requiring WAEC to coordinate the delivery of millions of question booklets across Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Students bear the burden
For the estimated 1.8 million students registered for this year's examination cycle, the delays have added unnecessary stress to an already high-pressure period. Several students told local reporters they felt their performance would suffer in subjects requiring careful diagram work done in poor lighting conditions.
Adaeze Nwosu, a senior secondary student in Enugu, said she spent part of her mathematics paper worrying about getting home safely rather than focusing on the questions. "By the time it got dark, I could barely see my own handwriting. I had to guess some answers because I could not read what I had written," she said.
What happens next
WAEC officials are expected to present a full incident report to the Federal Ministry of Education by the end of the month. The ministry has the authority to mandate reforms, including changes to how examination materials are distributed and stored ahead of future cycles.
Parents groups are calling for a formal meeting with WAEC leadership before the remaining papers are administered. The examination is scheduled to continue for another three weeks, with critical papers including chemistry and government still ahead.
What to watch: Whether the organisation will extend deadline extensions for affected students, and whether the Federal Ministry of Education will impose penalties or demand structural changes to prevent a repeat of these failures next year.
Any significant delay in marking or processing could push results into July, directly threatening students' chances of securing places for the upcoming academic year. The examination is scheduled to continue for another three weeks, with critical papers including chemistry and government still ahead.What to watch: Whether the organisation will extend deadline extensions for affected students, and whether the Federal Ministry of Education will impose penalties or demand structural changes to prevent a repeat of these failures next year.
