Over 100 pupils absent from First School exams in Donga Mantung

Authorities have reported nearly 110 absences from First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) examinations in Donga Mantung Division, North West, where armed conflict continues to threaten access to education.

The two-day exam kicked off nationwide this Tuesday, with 148,000 candidates sitting in for English and Mathematics papers 1 and 2.

More than 200,000 candidates also sat in for the Certificat d’Ecole Premier (CEP) exam written by pupils of the French subsystem of education.

These exams are taken by Class Six pupils are necessary to qualify primary school children for secondary school.

In the English-speaking North West and South West Regions, where separatists have been opposing education for seven years now, authorities say exams took place hitch-free, amid fear of attacks.

Kevin Njodzeka, the North West Regional Delegate for Basic Education, told CRTV no security threats were recorded at examination centres in the Region but significant absences were registered in Donga Mantung. And the absences could be blamed on the ongoing crisis.

“The only problem where we don’t know what is happening is in Donga Mantung where close 110 candidates are absent from the exam. But it could also be the children have moved out of the Region,” Mr Njodzeka said.

The regional delegate suspected that many parents could have taken their children out of Donga Mantung to write the exams over fears of the unknown.

The area, which was once considered a peace haven in the troubled Anglophone Regions, has come under serious attacks from separatists this year.

Notable among these attacks is the 11 February bomb blast in the Divisional headquarters Nkambe, which killed and injured over 70 people.

In the South West Region, where more than 29,000 pupils write the exams, a 6 percent increase was noted in the enrolment, according to official data. Over 30,000 candidates wrote the exams in the North West.

©Mimi Mefo Info