By Abiodun JAMIU
THE Kwara state government has announced that a 16-year-old female COVID-19 patient is currently sitting for her senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE) at the state COVID-19/Infectious Disease Centre.
In a statement released by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, the female student whose name and school were withheld for fear of stigmatisation sat for her Agricultural Science paper under the close supervision of an official of the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
The Team Lead/Manager Case Management Team, Kwara COVID-19/Infectious Diseases Centre, Dr Kudirat Oladeji-Lambe, said the candidate is currently asymptomatic and stable to sit for her exams
“The person in question is one of the final year Senior Secondary School students that have enrolled for the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination and she’s right here writing her exam. She is asymptomatic, which means she does not show any symptoms, and she’s stable. She is just here to observe her two weeks isolation process,”
Dr Oladiji-Lambe disclosed that the state government is working closely with WAEC officials to ensure that the student who was admitted yesterday, Tuesday, and had already missed a paper, writes her exams while at the centre.
“We have certified that she’s both mentally and physically fit to write her exams. She was in close contact with a relative of her that tested positive.
“The candidate was admitted yesterday (Tuesday). She missed a paper yesterday and we informed the authorities because as child advocates, once she had enrolled for WAEC, the government felt she has the right to write her papers. That’s why the state government thought it wise to arrange for her in order not to miss other papers.
“The state government deemed it fit to arrange for her to have a safe place for her to write the exam without the fear of stigmatisation or risk to other students.”
Kwara state has recorded a total of 906 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 687 cases have been discharged and 23 persons have died of the virus.