Concerned individuals monitoring the unpalatable trends of Miracle Examination Centres (MECs) in Asaba, Delta State have urged Governor Sherriff Oborevwori and the Ministry of Secondary Education to investigate all such Special Centers.
They have also charged the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), and the National Examination Council (NECO), to further investigate such schools and ensure that they are not allowed to thrive in the state.
This development follows the alarming rate at which these special centres are springing up in Asaba, even as they are alleged of using illegal and unethical means to pass candidates sitting for exams.
Given that the certificate granted by WAEC and NECO is a paramount requirement for acquiring admission into tertiary institutions, and is mostly used as a minimum requirement to contest for positions in politics, candidates through these special Centres now cut corners to ensure they pass at all costs.
Interestingly, efforts being made by the exam bodies to curtail the growth of the special centres by implementing stringent measures to control the registration process have been allegedly frustrated by the Delta State Examination Body of the Ministry of Secondary Education under the watch of Mrs. Rose Ezewu, the Honourable Commissioner for Secondary Education.
There have also been allegations that some officers of the examinations department allow such centres to thrive once they are bribed.
Wisdom Group Of School, Cable Point, Asaba, one of such Miracle Centres recently caught the attention of education stakeholders in the state after the private school located in the state capital raised eyebrows having presented a total of 456 candidates to sit for the 2024 WAEC examination.
In the wake of the development, questions such as how is it possible for a school with less that nine (9) teachers and a daily population of less than 110 school-age children from PRIMARY 1 to 6 and JSS 1 to SS 3 present over 456 candidates to sit for the 2024 WAEC examination. Where are these candidates from, what school were they in before or are they students who sat for the 2023 WAEC examination in the school but failed and is Wisdom Group Of School, Asaba larger in population than the largest public secondary school in Asaba. All of these questions have been asked.
Officers of the Delta State Examination office headed by the Director of Examinations, Mrs’ E. Eguriase have also been trailed by allegations by clearing these candidates knowing fully well that most of them do not posses the approved recommended requirements by the Ministry of Secondary Education as they have been alleged of requesting the proprietor of Wisdom Group Of School, Asaba to pay an undisclosed sum of money in cash for the screening of all candidates presented by the school irrespective of whether the candidates are qualified to sit for the examination or not.
The directive to the propietor to pay the undisclosed sum of money to the Examination Director is alleged to come directly from the office of the Honourable Commissioner as it is alleged that the Commissioner is aware of these illegal collections by Mrs. Eguriase who happens to be one of her stooge. The illegal money paid does not include the approved fee by the State Government for examination ID cards/Regulation.
The source also alleged that not only is it mandatory to pay various sums of money per candidate to the Director Examination (Mrs. Eguriase) before documents submitted by schools are signed, added that it is also compulsory for teachers to pay to her sums ranging from N4,000 to N8,000 to be shortlisted as Supervisors for the 2024 WAEC examination. Our source also noted that even if the school nominated a teacher the payment in cash must be made at the examination office before the nomination is approved by the Ministry and sent to the Delta State WAEC Office.
An angry examination officer in one of the public schools who wants to remain anonymous revealed that some teachers of high integrity who were nominated by their schools as supervisors were not shortlisted because they frowned at the turn of events and refused to bribe the Director and other examination officers, thus their names were not sent to the WAEC state office. When they sort to find out why they were not shortlisted, the Director of examinations told them it was as a result of their refusal to comply with the payment as she boasted that she was in charge and has the approval of the Honourable Commissioner to send out only the names of nominated teachers who paid.
The saddening situation has since seen many asking Governor Oborevwori to unravel the many mysteries surrounding these special centers and the atrocities allegedly in the Ministry of Secondary Education.
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