Outrage as Imo Pupils Write Common Entrance, FSLC Exams in Darkness Until 7pm

• Parents have criticised the conduct of Imo State’s First School Leaving Certificate and Common Entrance examinations after pupils were forced to write into the evening, with some sitting the exams under darkness.

Parents in Imo State have expressed outrage after primary school pupils sat for the First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) and Common Entrance examinations under darkness following hours of delays across several examination centres.

The examinations, held on Friday, reportedly stretched beyond 7:00 p.m., leaving many children exhausted after arriving at their centres as early as morning despite heavy rainfall.

The affected pupils were required to write both the First School Leaving Certificate and Common Entrance examinations on the same day, a decision parents said contributed to the prolonged exercise.

According to reports, the examinations were scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., but heavy rainfall delayed the distribution of question papers and answer booklets to several centres.

Parents who waited at schools including Shell Camp Primary School, Kingdom Heritage Model School, World Bank Primary School, and Barclays International School, Irete, said examination materials had still not arrived at some centres by 4:00 p.m.

Many remained in their vehicles, nearby shops, or makeshift shelters while others stood in the rain waiting for their children to complete the examinations.

One parent, identified as Chukwudi, called for the removal of officials of the Imo State Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education over what he described as poor planning.

“Whoever is in charge of Common Entrance Examination and First Leaving School Certificate Examination in Imo State; whether the Commissioner for Education or whoever should be sacked. They are incompetent and unorganized. Pupils still taking local exams till 6:30pm. Shame to the organizers,” he wrote on Facebook.

Another parent, Chinwe, also criticised the exercise, lamenting that children who left home before 8:00 a.m. were still writing examinations late into the night.

“Imo State educational system is zero. 8pm, children that left their homes before 8am amidst the heavy rain are still out in the cold writing FSLC exam that was scheduled to hold before now. The exam was moved twice,” she said.

Several parents said officials blamed the delay on the late arrival of examination materials.

At Shell Camp Primary School, one parent further alleged that there were not enough question papers, forcing pupils to share copies or write the examinations in batches.

The parent, who requested anonymity, described the experience as traumatic for the children.

“Can you imagine the psychological trauma these children, who are less than 12 years old, endured all day? They woke up early, travelled through heavy rain, stayed hungry and exhausted, yet were still writing exams at 7pm. It is a huge failure of the system. The Education Ministry has failed us all,” the parent said.

The First School Leaving Certificate and Common Entrance examinations are qualifying tests for admission into secondary schools, with the Common Entrance examination serving as the gateway into state-owned secondary schools in Nigeria.