The sight of teenagers writing the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) hunched over their exam scripts under the dim glow of mobile phone flashlights is not just disheartening, it is a glaring indictment of systemic failure.
Development Diaries reports that recent viral videos showed candidates sitting for the 2025 WASSCE English Language examination late at night without electricity, using lanterns and mobile phone flashlights.
That candidates were compelled to write the English Language Paper 2 late into the night, in some cases until 10pm, is an unacceptable lapse in planning and coordination by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
It not only endangered students’ well-being but also undermined the credibility of an exam that is central to their future.
This is not merely a logistical hiccup. It is a reflection of poor crisis management, gross underestimation of risks, and disregard for the psychological and physical toll on candidates.
While WAEC’s intentions to clamp down on exam malpractice may be valid, the execution, marked by delays, abrupt changes in question papers, and poor contingency planning has led to widespread distress and public outrage.
From Benue to Ogun, Lagos to Taraba states, stories were the same: delayed scripts, improvised lighting, anxious parents, exhausted candidates.
Videos circulating on social media showed children, some as young as 15, scribbling answers in the dark, in schools that had no electricity and no proper backup.
In some instances, parents had to bring flashlights from home. Others stood guard late into the night, waiting to ensure their children returned home safely amid growing insecurity.
‘My child wrote English till 8pm while it rained heavily’, a parent, Dorathy Makir, lamented. ‘We all know the state currently struggles with insecurity. This is not right’.
What is most troubling is the avoidable nature of this ordeal. Reports suggest that delays were largely caused by the late arrival of question papers, with some schools receiving them as late as 8pm due to logistical confusion.
In some cases, questions had to be reprinted and distributed afresh, allegedly due to earlier leaks.
In a country already struggling with insecurity, it is unconscionable to subject children to such late-night exams. Parents stood outside school gates, anxious and angry, waiting for their children in the rain and darkness.
In many rural areas, where electricity is a luxury and schools lack basic infrastructure, students had no proper lighting to see their scripts clearly.
The psychological and physical toll of the experience will not easily be forgotten by those who endured it. Students with disabilities, especially those with visual impairments or learning difficulties, were particularly disadvantaged.
One teacher lamented that WAEC had done a great injustice to students with special challenges, a sentiment that reflects how inclusive education was clearly not factored into the council’s last-minute decisions.
Even more troubling than the delay itself was WAEC’s apparent disregard for accountability. The council failed to appear before the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education after being summoned to explain the chaos.
Their reason, that they were busy overseeing ongoing exams, is not only weak, but offensive to the students and parents demanding answers.
The consequences of this poorly managed examination extend far beyond that single night. There is no telling how many students will perform poorly in English, a subject central to their academic progression, simply because they were fatigued, anxious, or disoriented.
It is not enough to expect teenagers to adjust to late-night academic activity without repercussions. The quality of their answers, their concentration levels, and their emotional stability would all have been compromised.
Furthermore, the integrity of the examination has been called into question. If question leaks did occur, and WAEC’s only response was to reprint papers and distribute them late in the day, then the credibility of the exam is already tainted.
The council’s mishandling of the situation creates more questions than answers: How were questions leaked? Who was responsible? Why was there no backup plan or communication strategy? Why were students the ones to bear the consequences of an internal failure?
WAEC’s failure also reflects the broader dysfunction of Nigeria’s education system, one where students are often the last consideration in policymaking, and where failure is rarely met with real consequences.
This crisis should never be brushed aside as a one-off event. It should provoke an urgent rethinking of how national examinations are planned, communicated, and administered.
Nigeria must not only demand accountability from WAEC but also invest in building an examination system that is student-centred, resilient, and responsive.
Beyond words, Development Diaries calls on WAEC to take concrete steps to reform its examination processes. The exam body must also commit to inclusive practices, as students with disabilities cannot continue to be sidelined during national assessments.
Photo source: Channels TV
