The Head of National Office (HNO) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Mr Patrick Areghan, disclosed this on Tuesday at a press briefing in Lagos.

Seemingly, the body warned that inadequate preparation would not be an excuse for examination malpractice, noting that the examination slated to hold from August 3 to September 5, would be conducted from Monday to Saturday.

Insideojodu had earlier reported that the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, said on Monday that school facilities would be made available for revision classes ahead of the examination.

“Schools must provide wash-hand buckets with running water, soaps, hand sanitizers and thermometer hand-gun to check the temperature of all concerned.

“All examination functionaries, including the Council’s staff on distribution; Supervisors; Invigilators, Inspectors; candidates and school officials will be required to wear face masks, wash and sanitize their hands daily and throughout the duration of the examination.

“Let me assure you and the general public that we shall adhere strictly to social/physical distancing in the examination halls by making sure that candidates sit two (2) metres apart.

“This means that many more classrooms will be used and many more supervisors and invigilators required to conduct the examination.

“This has raised the need for the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to staff, supervisors and other examination officials,” he said.

FG also said the last cabin row will be left unoccupied, as part of its measure to ensure safety onboard and maintain physical distancing.

Speaking at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing on Monday, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, explained that the last row would be used as isolation centre for air travellers that exhibit COVID-19 symptoms.

Sirika said food would no longer be served on domestic flights when operations resume, explaining that the decision is part of efforts to control the spread of coronavirus on flights.

“We will allow the last row in the cabin of the aircraft free so that we can isolate just in case we see something that looks like symptoms within the cabin so that we don’t create panic.

“We will carry you behind and isolate you there. Our cabin staff are well trained to look out for this. I told you that cabin crew are not just trained to serve teas.

“For the domestic operations, there will be no food so that we reduce the level of contamination,” Sirika said.