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Assessment Of The Effect Of Covid 19 Pandemic On External Examinations In Nigeria
[A CASE STUDY OF 2020 WAEC, NECO AND GCE]
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Sometimes in 2019, there was an outbreak of a viral disease (Coronavirus: COVID-19) in Wuhan, China. This epidemic recently turned into a ravaging pandemic which posed a serious threat to global public health and eventually led to the total lockdown of major cites globally, Nigeria inclusive (Lin et al., 2020). This pandemic has also led to the early closure of Schools and Citizens have been advised to isolate themselves and maintain social distancing for the fear of been infected by this deadly virus (Sintema, 2020). Towards the end of March 2020, 27th to be precise through the press briefing by the Minister of Health in Nigeria, all institutions cutting across primary, secondary and tertiary institutions were instructed to close down the current academic session, due to the deadly Coronavirus which was ravaging the whole world.
The advent of the COVID pandemic has not only revealed the poor state of infrastructure and facilities in the health sector of Nigeria but also revealed the reality of the dilapidation and poor funding of the education sector. Aside from the health sector, no other area has suffered the impact of COVID-19 like education.While many countries have easily adapted and switched to virtual classes, in Nigeria, it is not only difficult but also impossible to open our schools virtually due to lack of facilities necessary to operate virtual classes, poor provision of the internet network, unstable power supply, high cost of mobile data and other challenges.Many children were out of school even before the pandemic, and even more, have dropped out due to the pandemic.The learn from home teaching method introduced by the Nigerian ministry of education to teach through radio and television is not yielding the desired result as the electricity supply in the nation is below average and the majority of Nigerians are living below the poverty line and cannot afford televisions or radios.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Due to the outbreak of the pandemic and with schools been told to close down to reduce the spread of the virus,The external examinations(WAEC,NECO and GCE) which was schedule to take place in April ,June and August respectively were been postponed indefinetly by the examination bodies.The WAEC stakes are always high. These exams certify student achievement; they enable objective and transparent student placements into the job market, universities, and for scholarships.because of the high stakes of this examinations students spend, collectively,millions of hours each year cramming for tests that may have limited validity. Unreliable exams blunt the incentives for human capital generation,incentivize bad pedagogy in schools,and undermine employer’s faith in school degrees as a signal of human capital with potential macro implications for the labor market and economy as a whole .
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