Nigerians reacted with disbelief and anger after several secondary school students sat for the WAEC English exam in near darkness due to unexpected delays.
Videos now trending on social media show candidates writing under torchlights and candlelight, hours after their exam was originally scheduled to begin.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) English Language papers II and III, which were meant to start at 4 p.m., did not commence until 7 p.m. in many parts of Osun State.
The exam lasted until 9pm, leaving both students and parents distressed and frustrated.
This bizarre turn of events followed a smooth takeoff earlier in the day when students wrote Paper I (Oral English) as planned.
However, after hours of waiting for the main paper, they were finally called back into exam halls by 7pm.
One examiner in Osun State, who preferred not to be named, explained the reason behind the delay.
According to him, “We discovered that the students have seen the question, hence we need to change it.
We hurriedly changed the paper but it was late, and that is what caused them to start the examination late.”
The examiner’s explanation, however, did little to calm nerves.
Teachers, parents, and even social media users expressed deep concern over the situation.
Jumoke Adedokun, a teacher at one of the affected schools, described the experience as shocking and emotionally draining.
“It is a frustrating occurrence today. We never planned that we would stay that late but officials of WAEC insisted that the exam should be held today.
We used phone torchlight to illuminate the hall. There may be a mass failure of the subject in Osun State due to this,” she said.
She also noted that the delay caused serious panic among parents.
“Many parents have been calling us about the whereabouts of their children.
We had to explain to them about the change. We started the exam at 7pm and ended by 9pm.”
Meanwhile, online videos show worried parents arriving with food and water at night to comfort their children, who had spent the entire day at school.
These clips have drawn wide condemnation from citizens demanding immediate government action.
“This is an embarrassment to our education system,” one user posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Others called the WAEC English exam delay “a new low” and urged the government to launch an investigation into the incident.
Furthermore, the silence from WAEC has only fueled speculation and public outcry.
While the suspected exam leak has been hinted at, no official statement has confirmed or denied the claim.
However, the incident, though possibly isolated, exposes deep cracks in the country’s examination administration.
