Controversy as Lagos releases common entrance results

•A cross-section of pupils writing the Lagos State Common Entrance Examination in Lagos... recently.
 

Folashade Adebayo writes that allegations of fraud and disappointment have trailed the release of the Lagos State Placement Test

Parents whose children have yet to write the Placement Test into Junior Secondary Schools in Lagos have called on the state government to come to their aid.

This came as the release of the Placement Test results was announced by the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board on Wednesday.

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About 150,000 pupils from public and private schools in the state sat for the examination.

Some of the parents, whose children were candidates of some private schools, claimed to have paid exam fees up to N12,000 per child, for the entrance examination, which was conducted on July 11.

A parent, Mr. Monday Akindele, whose son attends Yinkem International Group of Schools, Mafoluku, said his son and his colleagues were sent back from their examination centre on the day of the exam.

He added that the proprietress of the school later told him that it was because the centre was overcrowded.

“What do we believe now? The result has been released and schools will resume next month. Will my son repeat his class? We know that candidates who failed the examination are usually allowed to sit for a make-up examination. But what happens to pupils who were not allowed to be part of it at all? ’’ he asked.

Another parent, Mr. Munir Akande, whose daughter did not sit for the examination, urged the government to look into the matter.

“This is beginning to look like a scam and the truth has to come out. The school claims to be approved by the Lagos State Government and that was why we registered our daughter there. We need to know the truth between the state government and the affected schools. Government should set up an inquiry on this matter, ’’ he said.

When our correspondent contacted the school, the proprietress, Mrs. Yinka Adewuyi, said a man who worked with the state Ministry of Education registered her pupils.

Adewuyi, who refused to identify the man, insisted that the unnamed official had successfully registered pupils for the examination in the past.

“Let us give the man the benefit of the doubt. We cannot spoil our relationship with him over a little challenge. This is not the first or second time he would be helping us. The man has assured us that our pupils will eventually sit for the examinations. There are 16 pupils affected in my school and we are not the only school involved. Admission continues even after resumption next month. It is done in batches,’’ she said.

The Head Mistress, who declined to be named, also confirmed that pupils paid N12,000 for the examination. Officially, the exam costs N5,000.

The educationist, who seemed flustered on the phone, declined to name the centre or the supervisor who sent her candidates back.

“All I know is that we were not alone. We have been attaching our pupils to public schools for years in order for them to be part of the common entrance examination without a problem. What happened that day was that the centre was over-flooded with candidates and we were told to go, that our candidates would be called to sit for the second batch of the examination. That was also the first time I would hear about a second batch arrangement. We were not the only school affected but we have not heard from them since that time,” she said.

However, the Head, Lagos State Examination Board, Mr. Oluwafemi Hassan, told our correspondent that the claims were not true. In a phone interview with our correspondent on Thursday, Hassan said the participating schools were allowed to pick their centres, as the examination was programmed.

“That assertion cannot be true because we had 235 centres across the state. Everybody picked his or her own centre during registration. Once the number got to 500, that centre would be closed. The registration was done in such a way that you picked your own centre. It is a programmed system. Every school that registered got a customised compact disc that was licensed to that school alone,’’ he said.

Hassan also promised that the government would look into the issue to determine the fate of the affected pupils.

“Government will decide that later. Sincerely, this is the first time I am hearing about this complaint. But for any pupil to attend Government College in the state, he or she has to participate in that examination and you must be a bonafide member of an approved public or private school. This is a school-based examination and it is different from the examination into Model Colleges,’’ he said.

Findings by our correspondent have revealed that the matter may involve more schools and pupils. A source at the education ministry said it had become common for schools to collect money from pupils and not register them.

“My experience is that some private school owners defraud parents and later tell them stories. There is a syndicate involved and the pupils may have to repeat the class. It is a common thing,’’ said the source.

Meanwhile, an educationist, Mr. Segun Omisore, has urged the government to intervene in the matter. While conceding that the development may affect the pupils psychologically, he advised the Lagos State government to put in place an internal mechanism to check fraud in its examination system.

“The pupils may be taken to private secondary schools if the parents are rich, but we have to stop this trend of involving mercenaries in the conduct of examinations. There are some unscrupulous proprietors who cash in on the lack of internal mechanism to check frauds in the state. The state government needs to work on this,’’ he said.