19th March, 2018
PRESS RELEASE:
WAEC IS CONFUSED
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) recently scheduled
Chemistry for 2 pm to 4 pm on Friday 20th April, 2018. Muslims all
over the world attend Jumat prayer in their mosques from 1 – 2.30 pm on
Fridays. As a rule, therefore, educational institutions and offices leave a
two-hour window (from 1 to 3 pm) for the Muslims to worship. WAEC examination
is expected to start from Tuesday 3rd April to Tuesday 15th
May, 2018.
In
the face of a barrage of criticisms from Islamic organizations including the
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), WAEC modified its invidious timetable.
Chemistry, which was earlier fixed for 2 – 4 pm on Friday 20th
April, 2018 was moved backwards to Tuesday 10th April, 2018.
Ceramics (Essay) and Forestry (Essay) will now be held on Friday 20th
April, 2018 from 2 pm to 4 pm.
Reports that WAEC has amended this timetable could not be
confirmed by us because the information was not on WAEC’s website when we
checked to confirm. Only Premium Times, a leading online newspaper and a
student information portal (http://studentinfoportal.com/education-news/waec-adjusts-wassce-timetable-to-enable-muslims-observe-jumaat/.
It claimed that the Director of Public Affairs, WAEC Nigeria, Mr. Demianus
Ojijeogu has confirmed the slight amendment.
Mr Ojijeogu was quoted as saying, “For the
sake of the people who will go to the mosque, the exam will be delayed till
they come back”. According to him, “the paper will be delayed till 2:30 pm or 3
pm, when the Muslims will return from the mosque.”
This
is not a categorical statement. It is not convincing enough. It leaves Muslim
candidates at the mercy of WAEC’s ad hoc staff, invigilators and
supervisors, some of whom can be overzealous Muslim-haters. WAEC needs to withdraw its first offensive
timetable, issue a press statement and follow this up with the publication of
an amended timetable.
Even
if it is true, this amendment still needs clarification from WAEC. For
instance, we need to know whether or not some Muslim candidates take these two
subjects (Ceramics and Forestry). Yet this may not be the end of our inquiry
even if no Muslim candidate has registered for the subjects this year because
some Muslim candidates are likely to show interest in them in the near future.
The ideal thing for WAEC to do, therefore,
is to steer clear completely from scheduling any examination during the Jumat
period. There is no need to stereotype Muslims and the subjects they are likely
to take. Knowledge is a universal thing and candidates are not likely to
consider religion as a factor when choosing their subjects.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) was
shocked by the first timetable released by WAEC. It was unfair, tyrannical and
provocative. It was equally myopic, thoughtless and parochial. This ‘amended’
version presupposes that WAEC is confused.
We
were shocked because issues like this had been trashed out with WAEC before.
For WAEC to have tried this again, we strongly suspect that the regional
examination body is suffering from chronic administrative amnesia.
WAEC appears confused because there are
three other clashes on the ‘amended’ timetable which WAEC did not address at
all. Social Studies (Objective) is slated for 1 – 1.50 pm on Friday 4th
May, 2018 while Electronics (Objective) is also billed to take place between 1
and 3 pm on Friday 11th May, 2018. Woodwork is equally scheduled for
the same day from 12 – 3 pm. So how do we reconcile all these? WAEC is out to
slay Muslim candidates.
Placed
pari passu with the ‘amended’ timetable, it is clear that WAEC’s
spokesperson seeks to deceive Muslim candidates. He is leading them into a
trap. If indeed the timetable has been amended and Chemistry has been moved to
morning period on Tuesday 10th April, 2018, why would there be any
need for “the exam would be delayed till they come back” since it would no
longer be taken on a Friday.
WAEC
spokesperson also spoke of the paper being delayed till “…2.30 pm or 3 pm”.
This is supposed to be a policy matter. Is he not so sure? Which one should
WAEC ad hoc officials operate? 2.30 pm deadline or 3 pm? WAEC is
speaking from both sides of its mouth.
We
recall our press statement dated 26th August, 2015 under the caption
“WAEC Examination Timetable is an Invitation to Chaos”. That press statement
was issued three years ago when WAEC fixed three different subjects between the
hours of 1pm and 3 pm on three consecutive Fridays running from 11th,
18th, and 25th September of that year. MURIC cried foul
and WAEC later adjusted its timetable.
So
what has changed since then? Does WAEC intend to bring examination materials to
its Muslim candidates in the mosque? Is WAEC asking Muslim candidates to choose
between worshipping and their examination just as some religious bigots told
Muslim students in the past? Is this not an attempt by WAEC to jeopardize the
interest and future of Muslim candidates? Is this also not a deliberate attempt
to ease out Muslims from vital degree courses like medicine, pharmacy, nursing,
etc?
Once is happenstance, twice is a
coincidence but the third time is enemy action. The 2015 incident was not the
first time. Is WAEC targeting Muslim candidates for destabilization? It appears
the only language WAEC understands is force. Although Muslims will not resort to
the use of force, we will resist WAEC’s illegal, unlawful, illegitimate and
unconstitutional manipulation of its timetable to deprive Muslim candidates of
their Allah-given fundamental right to worship as enshrined in Section 38 (i)
& (ii) of the 2011 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as
amended. Any WAEC timetable which trespasses into the Jumat period (12 – 3 pm
on Friday) is therefore ultra vires, null and void.
By this press statement, we are notifying
the Federal Ministry of Education of the volatile nature of WAEC’s timetable. It
is capable of causing a disturbance of public peace if it erodes the Jumat
period. Nigeria has witnessed enough religious riots and the Ministry must call
WAEC to order.
WAEC’s
regional status notwithstanding, the Ministry of Education owes it a duty to
ensure that no educational exercise capable of stirring civil disturbance is
allowed to take place under its watch. The Ministry of Education should have an
input in an exercise of this magnitude. In view of the fact that WAEC keeps
repeating the same irritating and illegal time table year after year, we
suggest that from now on, WAEC time tables should be scrutinized by the
ministry of education to ensure that nothing unlawful creeps into it.
Muslim candidates and their parents will be
left with no choice than to mobilize to WAEC examination centers in peaceful
protest if this complaint is ignored.
We demand a WAEC timetable that leaves
the 12 – 3 pm window which Muslims need for Jumat service untouched. An ideal
examination timetable for Friday will therefore be 9 am to 12 noon and 3.30 – 6
pm. In fact, heaven will not fall if examinations are limited to morning period
on Fridays.
The
WAEC timetable imbroglio has once again brought the Friday Question to focus.
We have no iota of doubt that WAEC will have no audacity to fix an examination
during the Jumat period if Friday is free like Sunday. Or should we simply ask
WAEC to fix one subject for the Jumat period and another one on Sunday morning
from 9 am to 12 noon, at least for parity? How does that sound? Who feels it
knows it. WAEC should stop oppressing Muslims. All we are saying is: Give Us
Jumat period. Respect Allah, our Creator, even if you don’t respect us.
WAEC
is pursuing an aggressive anti-Islam policy. Fixing examinations during Jumat
service gives non-Muslims undue advantage over Muslims. This is discriminatory
and unjust. WAEC has lost its soul.
To round up, we charge the Federal Ministry
of Education to call WAEC to order. We advise WAEC authorities to consult
widely when fixing its timetable because no public institution is an island,
entire of itself. WAEC should note that the Jumat period (12 – 3 pm) is not
negotiable for any subject. We urge Muslims to remain calm, to eschew violence
but to be alert and watchful. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.
Professor
Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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