The release of the May/June 2015 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results has, again, brought to focus the quality of the education that an average Nigerian pupil receives.
That 61 per cent of the candidates failed to obtain credit in five subjects, including English and Mathematics, analysts say, is a thing of great concern. The implication, they note, is that the majority of the candidates cannot further their education, at least for now.
To study in the country’s university, a candidate is to have the minimum entry requirement of credit in five subjects, including English and Mathematics.
The WAEC Head of National Office, Mr. Charles Eguridu, while announcing the results on Monday in Lagos, had revealed that only 616,370 candidates obtained credit in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. The candidates, he said, represented 38.68 per cent of those who sat for the examination.
One million five hundred and ninety-three thousand, four hundred and forty-two candidates, comprising 864,096 males and 729,346 females, sat for the examination.
Although Eguridu said this year’s results were better than those of 2014, many stakeholders are still not comfortable with the general performance of the candidates.
Appraising the development, an educationist, Dr. Segun Omisore, who blamed the pupils’ poor performance, particularly in Mathematics and English Language, on poor foundation at the primary and secondary schools, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the sector.
According to him, it is only through such measures the authorities will achieve a holistic approach to addressing the rot in the sector.
He also noted that it was imperative for the government to evaluate teaching, especially at the basic education level.
Omisore added, “They study Business Studies/Education, Political Science/Education in the Nigerian Certificate of Education. What will that do in a primary school? So, while we complain about the poor results at the WAEC level, what is the background of our teachers? We should declare emergency in the education sector because the foundation from primary to secondary schools is shaky.
“I will use Lagos State as an example. When you go to its government schools, you see a class of 120 pupils to one teacher learning in a small room. A right environment counts and part of it is the pupil to teacher ratio. In the Montessori system, the recommendation is a pupil ratio of four to one teacher, although eight to one is acceptable.
“But there is not going to be any teaching in a class of 120 pupils and teachers actually use the opportunity to start trading to their pupils. I went to a school in Lagos and a pupil had to crawl across desks to get to the front.”
However, the President, National Association of Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria, Mr. Haruna Danjuma, said stakeholders should share in the blame.
The way forward, he said, was for all stakeholders to stay alive to their respective responsibilities.
He added,“It is a rather unfortunate development. Some of our children were not prepared for the examination. We cannot blame the examination body; it does not teach the pupils and we cannot also blame the teachers.
“Some schools could not complete the syllabus because the teachers were on strike. We are to blame ourselves. Many schools do not have learning and teaching materials and some parents do not monitor their children properly. We have to share the blame and address our shortcomings.”
In the May/June 2014 WASSCE, 529,425 candidates, representing 31.28 per cent of the candidates, obtained the minimum university entry requirement. One million, six hundred and ninety-two thousand, four hundred and thirty-five candidates sat for the examination that year.
In May/June 2013, 639,334 candidates, representing 38.30 per cent qualified to seek admission to university in the country. One million five hundred and forty-three thousand, six hundred and eight-three candidates sat for the examination.
Giving further breakdown of the 2015 results, Eguridu had said, “758,849 candidates, representing 47.62 per cent, obtained six credits and above; 949,862 candidates, representing 59.61 per cent, obtained five credits and above; while 1,114,988 candidates, representing 69.97 per cent, obtained credit and above in four subjects. In addition, 1,295,915 candidates, representing 78.81 per cent, obtained credit and above in three subjects; while 1,376,743 candidates, representing 86.40 per cent obtained credit and above in two subjects.”
Besides the failure rate, stakeholders, too, are unimpressed with the number of candidates engaged in examination malpractice. In fact, the council this year withheld the results of 118,101 candidates, representing 7.41 per cent for alleged examination malpractice.
On cheating, Omisore blamed it on Nigerians’ craze for certificate acquisition.
Whereas the council withheld the results of 145,795 candidates, representing 8.61 per cent for alleged examination malpractice in 2014, it held those of 112,865 candidates, representing 6.75 per cent, in 2013.
On measures to check malpractice, the council had in 2014, inaugurated the Candidate Identity Verification, Attendance, Malpractice and Post Examinations Management System device to help it to check the activities of cheats. The ICT-driven device assists supervisors in identity verification, capturing and recording of occurrences as they happen.
It also helps in monitoring the movement of supervisors between custodian points and examination centres, as well as at the marking venues.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, has frowned on the failure rate of candidates in the examination.
In a statement by the association on Thursday, the group, through Kaamil Kalejaiye, lamented that the results reflected the need for the government to make increased investment in education.
He explained that despite the marginal improvement, the result was still not satisfactory because a larger percentage of the candidates would not be able to process their admission with a failure in either English or Mathematics.
Kalejaiye also accused governors who made the council to withhold candidates’ results of attempting to “murder” the future of Nigerian children.
He said, “There is marginal improvement, compared to last year’s result but the result is still woeful. Only 38.8 per cent can actually secure admission to tertiary institutions and the figure is even lower, considering the 13 states whose results are being withheld by WAEC.
“The states responsible are playing with the future of the Nigerian children by giving room to WAEC to withhold the results. Both parties should resolve the impasse in order not to further cause damage to the already deteriorating educational system.”
The PUNCH recalls that WAEC released the withheld results on Thursday after reaching a truce with the leadership of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum in Abuja
As a means of tackling the failure, Kalejaiye called on Federal Government to organise an educational summit, with major stakeholders in attendance.
He added, “All the stakeholders in the sector should immediately convey a summit and come up with action to address the rate of failure in WAEC and improve the quality and standard of education in Nigeria.
“We are ready to be part of such a summit and even provide resources as our own contribution to national growth. This is one of the practical ways to fight all forms of criminality, including terrorism.”
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