Private school proprietors in Ogun State have raised alarm that a large number of Senior Secondary School 3 students could be barred from sitting the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination due to new compliance conditions introduced by the state government.
The school owners said the requirement that every candidate must possess a valid Learner Identification Number before being cleared for WASSCE registration has created significant bottlenecks. According to them, technical challenges on the state’s student data platforms have made it difficult for many students to retrieve or verify their identification numbers.
They explained that although the Learner Identification Number was introduced years ago to capture data of students in both public and private schools, recent migration from the former OGSERA platform to a new system known as DIPER has led to glitches. Some students who previously had valid records reportedly cannot find their names on the new platform.
The proprietors also faulted a directive requiring SS3 students who transferred from other states and do not have a Learner Identification Number to present additional documents, including their Junior Secondary School 3 certificates and full termly results from SS1 and SS2, before being cleared for registration.
They argued that meeting these conditions within the limited timeframe for WAEC registration is unrealistic, warning that more than 70 per cent of private school candidates in the state risk missing the examination if the policy is not suspended. Some stakeholders have claimed that up to 700,000 students could be affected if urgent intervention does not occur.
The proprietors appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to direct the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, to defer the implementation of the policy until the next examination cycle.
Responding, the commissioner defended the measure, saying it was aimed at curbing examination malpractice and strengthening oversight of student data. He noted that the Learner Identification Number system was introduced about five years ago and that every student enrolled in schools within the state is expected to have one.
Arigbabu dismissed claims that the policy was punitive, alleging that some private schools register candidates who do not eventually sit the examination. He said the government would address genuine technical issues but would not compromise its effort to sanitise the examination process.
While acknowledging that some students may be experiencing platform-related challenges, the commissioner maintained that reforms were necessary to block loopholes and ensure integrity in the registration and examination system.
