Scratch Card Wahala – Students Blast WAEC, SLCB, RCB
Over 40,000 students preparing to take the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have suffered in long queues since last week to purchase scratch cards from the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (SLCB) and the Rokel Commercial Bank (RCB) assigned by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to register students biometrically.
Speaking to some affected students in an exclusive interview, they bemoan that they have been waiting in long queues at the headquarters of WAEC in a bid to buy scratch cards for the 2018 exams.
They alleged that staff of the two banks sold the scratch cards to students on the tune of Le750,000 instead of the normal price which is Le550,000.
“In fact that is why we decided to protest in front of the OAU Drive for President Bio to see us when we were expressing our frustration”, said the hopeless students and mentioned that on their way to the police headquarters, some senior armed military officers threatened them with their guns but they were protected by a senior female police officer who took them to her office to know their plights.
In his response to the allegations made by students, the Head of Operations for SLCB, Ibrahim T. Sankoh said the bank received 2,000 scratch cards from WAEC, which he said they have sold to students and displayed the lists of students who have purchased the cards.
He further discussed that the bank has no need to hide the cards from students who he described as future leaders of the country and that the bank is a national institution which is here to provide a service to the public.
In her security backup statement to the students, the Head of Director of Operations at the police headquarters, Madam Elizabeth Augustus Turay advised disgruntled students to maintain calm while she was trying to inform concerned authorities.
She admonished students not to take the law into their hands but to be patient until the matter was addressed.
Speaking on behalf of RCB, the Business Center Manager, Prince Williams said they received 2,350 from WAEC on Thursday 17th May 2018 and have successfully distributed them to their various centers across the country to fast track the process.
In his short remarks, the Head of Finance Division of WAEC, Abu-Bakr Rahman said they have issued out 40,000 scratch cards to SLCB and RCB through biometric entries to reduce exam irregularities.
By Alhassan Bangura
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