Outrage as WAEC candidates sit English Exam past midnight in Taraba, Lagos

Tension and frustration gripped parts of Taraba State on Wednesday as students sitting the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) were compelled to take their English Language paper late into the night.

The examination, which was officially scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., experienced an unexplained delay, with candidates only commencing the paper around 9:00 p.m. As of the time of reporting, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) had not issued an official statement regarding the cause of the delay.

The development triggered widespread outrage among parents, guardians, and school proprietors, who voiced serious concerns over the safety and well-being of the students—many of whom remained in examination centres well past midnight.

In response, numerous parents are calling for an immediate investigation into the incident and are demanding firm guarantees from WAEC that such a situation will not be repeated.

A similar episode was reported in Lagos, where videos widely circulated on social media showed students writing the WASSCE under poor lighting conditions late at night, relying on lamps and mobile phone torches for illumination.

Education stakeholders have condemned the occurrences as wholly unacceptable, citing the psychological and physical strain imposed on candidates. They urged WAEC to improve its planning and logistics to prevent a recurrence in future examinations.