Ebonyi state government on Friday, September 18, 2020, debunked reports that it was planning to write the Basic Education Certificate Examination questions on blackboards instead of the usual question papers.
Onyebuchi Chima, the commissioner for education, stated this during a meeting with principals of Junior Secondary schools in the state in Abakaliki, the state capital.
He was reacting to reports in some National Dailies which claimed that Ebonyi State Government had directed that BECE, popularly known as ‘Junior WAEC” examination questions are to be written on the blackboard with ‘chalks’ and ‘markers’ instead of standard typed question papers.
The Commissioner maintained that at no time did the state government contemplate using such an outdated method to conduct the examination and wondered where the reports emanated from.
Chima assured students that the exam which is scheduled to commence on Monday 21st September 2020 would follow the standard used in previous years.
He also debunked reports that the Ministry of Education had collected registration fees ranging between N30, 000 – N500, 000 from private schools to register their students for 2020 BECE.
According to him, the assertion is highly capricious, a blatant and malicious attempt to deface the good reputation of Ebonyi State Ministry of Education.
The Commissioner noted that the examination would have been written earlier in the year but was disrupted by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
He stated that the BECE exams are essential as it marks the end of the nine years Universal Basic Education especially as it prepares and enables JS3 students to graduate into senior secondary education.
He appealed to students and parents to disregard negative publications about the BECE Exams, urging them to read hard to correctly answer their questions, assuring that students who perform well would not just be issued with their BECE Certificates but would qualify to register for senior secondary one (SS1).
He further encouraged the media to be factual and to make efforts to be truthful by confirming their information before dissemination.
According to him, the media have positive roles to play in strengthening the quality of teaching, learning, and the evaluation mechanisms in the Ebonyi State education system and Nigeria in general.
Source: The Nation
