By: Lauretta Fagbohun, Abeokuta.

Private school proprietors in Ogun State have expressed deep concerns over new compliance conditions introduced by the state government for students seeking to register for the May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), warning that a significant number of candidates could be shut out if urgent steps are not taken.

The proprietors, who spoke anonymously, alleged that more than 70 per cent of Senior Secondary School 3 (SS3) students in private schools across the state risk missing the examination due to what they described as stringent and poorly timed requirements.

LIN Requirement Sparks Dispute

At the centre of the controversy is the mandatory possession of a Learner Identification Number (LIN) before students can be cleared for registration with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

According to one of the school owners, although the LIN is issued by the government to students upon enrolment in schools within the state, technical challenges with the online platforms used to generate and verify the numbers have created confusion.

“We were formerly on OGSERA, but recently we migrated to DIPER. Since then, there have been serious issues. Some students who were originally registered can no longer find their names on the platform,” the proprietor said.

He added that students who transferred into Ogun State schools in SS2 or SS3 from other states and do not have LINs are now required to present additional documents, including their Junior Secondary School (JSS3) certificates and complete SS1 and SS2 termly results, before being cleared for WASSCE registration.

We are wondering where these conditions are coming from because this is not the case in neighbouring states. Even if we want to comply, the timeframe is too short. Some students may not be able to retrieve their previous results for reasons beyond their control,” he said.

“Policies Must Wear a Human Face”

Another proprietor described the implementation timeline as unrealistic, noting that WAEC had already extended its registration schedule multiple times and could close registration at any moment.

“We also want the state to move forward, but our policies must wear a human face. Asking schools to produce first, second and third term results of SS1 and SS2 for transfer students now in SS3 within this limited timeframe is simply impractical,” he said.

The school owners appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to intervene and direct the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Abayomi Arigbabu, to suspend the policy until the next academic cycle.

In a viral message reportedly addressed to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, concerned stakeholders warned that not fewer than 700,000 private school students could miss the examination if the matter is not urgently resolved.

Government Defends Policy

Responding to the outcry, Prof Arigbabu insisted that the policy was not new, explaining that the Learner Identification Number was introduced about five years ago to help the state maintain comprehensive data on students in both public and private schools.

Every student schooling in the state is supposed to have the Learner Identification Number. It is what every student is given once you are registered in any school in the state, and this is not something you should be looking for in SS3,” the commissioner said.

He dismissed claims that the requirement was punitive, arguing that the government’s action was aimed at curbing examination malpractice.

“Many of these private schools will register all kinds of persons for WASSCE, and most of the candidates registered won’t be the ones sitting for the examination. If you cannot produce the LIN, we will definitely know that something is wrong,” he stated.

While acknowledging that some schools may be experiencing genuine technical difficulties, Arigbabu assured that such cases were being addressed.

“We are keen on sanitising the entire process. We will look at genuine complaints, but we will not compromise our resolve to block every loophole in the system,” he added.

With registration deadlines fast approaching, uncertainty continues to loom over thousands of private school candidates in Ogun State. While school owners push for a temporary suspension of the policy, the government appears determined to enforce stricter verification measures in a bid to curb malpractice and strengthen data integrity in the education system. Ogun government up