The Edo State Chapter of the National Association of Private School Owners (NAPPS) has urged the state administration to reevaluate the timing of the Primary 6 and JSS 3 examinations, which were recently changed to take place in second term in March each year.
According to Private School Owners, the new schedule may force some kids to stay home longer than necessary, leading some of the sluggish ones to engage in different anti-social vices.
The group also examined the problem of identity cards and biometrics for each kid enrolled in private schools in the state and urged the state government to take care of the project rather than leaving it up to the private schools.
These were included in a resolution adopted by the association at a larger gathering in Benin city, which members from the state’s 18 local government areas attended. The resolution was intended to address some of the ambiguities in the new government policies on private schools in the state.
The association believes that the State Government should seriously consider the issue of requesting JSS3 kids and primary six students to write their final exams in second term in March and continue in September of the same year, since we feel this to be unpleasant for owners of private schools.
“We are requesting that the tests be administered during third term, following Mid-Term Break.
Students will now be able to enjoy full academic benefits thanks to this. Because what would happen to the entire third term if the students wrote the examinations in the second semester? Additionally, their third semester of classes is included.
“Although the state government stated that students would continue attending classes after writing tests in the following term, we think you lack the moral authority to order students who have already completed their final exams to do so.
“We are asking the state government to seriously consider it through the Ministry of Education because if they reject it, it means they don’t want us to register our pupils for Primary Six and JSS 3 examinations.”
The organisation made note of the recent announcement by the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, that the state government will be distributing Identity Cards to all individuals in the state regarding biometrics and Identity Cards to be generated for all children in the state, from KG to SS3.
“We believe that the state government’s ID cards should take precedence over those produced by the ministry of education for students, as this could result in ID cards being produced twice for the same person.