West African Examination Council (WAEC) has called on candidates infected with the COVID-19 writing the ongoing examinations to keep calm saying that “the virus is not a death sentence”.

The call was made by the Head of WAEC in Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Areghan, on Wednesday at the end of a monitoring visit to Federal Government Boys College, Apo, Abuja.

Mr. Areghan gave the assurance that no student infected with COVID-19 would miss the examinations as stated:

“I want to assure you and the Nigerians that anywhere we have COVID-19 candidate, we make sure that he or she writes the examinations. It is not a death sentence, there is no stigma.

“We don’t want anybody to miss the exams. It’s no fault of theirs. We can defeat this disease provided we take first-line responsibility.”

 The WAEC Head of National Office in Nigeria maintained that the council had been working together with various states ministry of education to look out for candidates infected with the virus.  According to him, when a student gets infected, the ministry of education and the ministry of health in the state will have to come together and get a medical expert that will conduct the exam for the candidate.

Areghan noted that such candidates would write the examinations in the isolation centre adding that the council would thereafter go to the isolation centre and collect the script which would be put in a special bank designated for the purpose. He explained further:

“Yesterday we heard stories about some candidates contracting the disease in one state, we quickly got in touch with our officer and he said he was not aware.

“We ask him to get in touch with the commission and the commission said that there was nothing like that.

“Yes we are aware that in Gombe, there was one candidate who wrote the examinations for about two days or so and I learnt that the candidate had been discharged from the isolation center.”

 The head also narrated how the council learnt about such cases in Kwara and in Bayelsa, noting that massive testing was carried out before the commencement of the examination. In his words:

“The results have just come out and that the candidates infected have been isolated and we are conducting the examination for them.

“I want to assure you and the Nigerians that anywhere we have COVID-19 candidate, we make sure that he or she writes the examination. It is not a death sentence, there is no stigma.”

In reaction to the allegedly leaked examinations papers, Areghan denied the rumours saying there was no element of truth in it as he said thus:

“As I speak with you, no single examination paper was leaked. WAEC does not experience anything called leakage anymore since 1977.

“What has been happening is that some so called supervisors who the Ministry of Education repose confidence in selecting men and women of integrity and send them to us to be engaged as supervisor.’’

Areghan claimed that some mischievous supervisors opened the questions, snapped and posted them into designated WhatsApp groups for the benefit of their collaborators.  He described such supervisors as the bad eggs and urged that in the system, all hands must be on deck to fetch them out.

He however applauded the students for taking into cognisance the COVID-19 protocols during the examination.