Mohammed Munirat Nasir, Gusau.
Three final year students of Government Girls Arabic Secondary School (GGASS) Gusau, have been suspended from sitting for some subjects in the ongoing 2020 WAEC final examination by the school for cooking in the school hostel.
The suspension of the three female students of the Zamfara state owned boarding school according to the state ministry of education was taken to serve as a deterrent to other undisciplined students and also safeguard the dignity of the school principal.
The state Commissioner of Education, Dr Ibrahim Abdullahi Gusau said he sanctioned the suspension of the three female students whom he described as undisclosed.
Gusau reiterated that all forms of unruly attitude of students will be met with stiffer measures as he will not allow acts of indiscipline in the schools under his watch.
“Those students violated the rules of not cooking in the hostels. Cooking is totally prohibited in our schools. The SBMC recommended three weeks which was later reduced to two weeks and the ministry has sanctioned the suspension of the three female students,” he said.
When asked, if he knows the negative impact the barring from writing the final WAEC examination will have on the psychic of the affected three female students.
He said he is not aware that the suspension affected the students from writing about three subjects in the WAEC examination.
“The issue of the students missing the WAEC examination is not true, I am just hearing it from you. I doubt it, it did not happen in Zamfara state. All information reaching me, all the three students did not miss any examination due to the two weeks suspension,” he said.
A relative of one of the students while speaking to journalists alleged that the subjects missed included Civic Education, Physics Practical and Animal Husbandry.
He described the action of barring the students from writing the final WAEC examination as anti developmental in a state which had low school enrollment rate especially that of the girl child.
“Though I don’t support indiscipline but that decision of the school was to harsh and done in bad faith. How would this injustice malted on the children be ratified as they have being denied a great opportunity in their lives,” he said.
He added that the action of the school and the state ministry of education was capable of discouraging more potential female students from enrolling into schools with the believe that they might also denied the chance to sit for WAEC examination.
“Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle must as matter of public interest do the needful to avert future occurrence of this negative action. What we need in Zamfara is encouragement of girl child education and not suspension during WAEC examination,” he said.