Police Detain Principal, as Parents Protest Exclusion of Children from WAEC Exams in Rivers
Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
Operatives of Borokiri Police Division in Rivers State led by the Divisional Police Officer have detained the Principal of Community Secondary School (CSS), Borokiri, Port Harcourt for allegedly excluding students of the school from the list of registered candidates sitting for the ongoing examination by West African Examination Council (WAEC).
Trouble started when some of students numbering over 60 were denied access to the examination hall on Tuesday, with reason that their names were not sighted in the list of registered candidates for the exams.
Yesterday, the frustrated students alongside their parents stormed the school to demand the ongoing WAEC examination be halted over exclusion of their children who are students of the school.
THISDAY gathered that similar incident occurred in Birabi Memorial Grammer School (BMGS) in Bori, Khana Local Government Area where about 73 original students of the school were excluded from the exams while external students where participating in the academic exercise.
Speaking to journalists, Mr Iyaye Sunday, a parent at the CSS Borokiri said: “My son called me yesterday that the principal asked more than 60 students to go out because their names are not in the registered list.”
“They admitted external candidates and, I am sure of it because I saw the external candidates they are in the hall writing exams. My children and others are outside crying.
“I don’t know what to do, my children paid for the WAEC fee. I came myself to pay for the children and we are all here. The Principal can testify about it, I don’t know why he did what he did. He removed the names of students and put external candidates. The students are outside and we the parents are not happy. The students excluded are 62 in number.”
Another parent, Leya Jeremiah said: “Yesterday, my son called me that the Principal said he will not write WAEC, so now my son is outside .We are pleading that you people should come and help us. Just 62 students that are outside. He brought external candidates.
The Principal said is School’s board that removed the students’ names from the WAEC list.”
At BMGS Bori, Mr Friday Barilule lamented: “ My little sister, Faith Andrew, started school in Birabi Memorial Grammer School (BMGS), Bori from JSS 1 and today she is in SS 3. She went through all the processes to registered for the WAEC, especially when the state government paid the examination for all the indigenous students.
“In September, the students were asked to pay N8,000 to assist them, we paid. The school management again requested for N5, 000 for Identity Card and Biometric, we paid. But only for us to get to school on Tuesday for the examination and about 73 of them, original students of the school were told that their names were not in the WAEC list.
“The students excluded from the WAEC list were crying that the principal replaced their names with external candidates. They are about 73 students in number”.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Education in the state, Prof Chinedu Mmom, who spoke to journalists in Port Harcourt, on the development revealed that he has suspended the Principal of the CSS Borokiri, Godwin Eela and urged the police to detain him.
Prof Mmom further claimed that the principal agreed that he short changed students he registered in the school for external candidates, adding that principal is now pleading for leniency.
