This year, a total of 1, 692,435 candidates sat for May\June Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) across the country. Only 1,605,613 of them, representing 94.87 per cent have their results fully released so far, while the remaining candidates’ results are pending for one reason or the other including malpractice.
The students were tested in 76 subjects, in all. But unfortunately, the results like those before it in the recent years, was that of mass failure of candidates.
Giving the statistics to announce the results at a media briefing in Lagos last week, Head of Nigeria’s National Office of the council, Mr. Charles Eguridu, said in all, only 529,425, representing 31.28 per cent of candidates obtained credit passes and above in five subjects including English language and Mathematics. The implication of this outing is that the remaining 69.72 per cent of the candidates have no minimum requisite academic qualifications that can secure them admission into any higher institutions of learning in the country this academic calendar.
And this development when compared to the last two years’ results shows a marginal decline in candidates’ performance in the exam. For example, while only 38.81 per cent of candidates managed to obtained credit passes and above in five subjects including English Language and Mathematics in 2012, the percentage declined to 36.57 per cent last year. The WAEC boss fumed at the development.
He noted that the questions with which the candidates are being tested across subjects each year are based on the syllabus and therefore the council cannot for any reason reduce the standards. While he acknowledged the fact that the students, schools, governments may have their own part of the blame, Eguridu, a master’s degree holder in psychology from the University of Lagos, Akoka, placed the lion-share of the blame on the doorsteps of parents.
According to him, most state governments as well as schools are adopting different methods that will enhance students’ performance, not only in exams, but also character formation, but most parents are not just complementing the efforts.
He explained that unlike those old days when parents supervised their children’s home works and guided them towards hard work in their studies and proper upbringing, many of the contemporary parents are not doing that.
Eguridu, who is a former head of department, WAEC’s International Examinations in Accra, Ghana, explained further: “Parents are too busy looking for money and all sorts without minding what happens to their children’s education.
Everyone seems to have forgotten that those who excel in life do what others are unable to do, going the extra mile, burning night candles to achieve success in their studies. So, it will be unfair to continue blaming the school or teacher or even the government for the steady decline in the students’ performance. Nigeria has a robust school system that is far better than other nations in the sub-region.
We cannot also say that the students have not done well. Nigerian students performed comparatively well, compared to other students in other West African nations where WASCE is also being held, particularly in Mathematics. And therefore, it is the parents that have failed in their responsibilities, since they have abdicated their responsibilities to teachers.”
Agreeing with Eguridu, the South- West Coordinator of Parents/ Teachers Association of Nigeria, Deacon Olusoji Adams, told National Mirror that many parents truly do not bother about quality of education their children are exposed to. He explained that experience had shown that many parents prefer attending political rallies and meetings to attending parents/ teachers’ forum where issues concerning the development of their children education will be discussed.
Many students are distracted, according to him, from their studies by social media and frivolous activities with many parents not mindful of such behaviour.
“I know of Lagos State, for instance, hardly you will see up to 10 per cent of parents attending PTA meeting at any given time. You won’t see them but they can go en masse to party rallies and meetings where they will share cups of rice to them.
Those that are not even interested in partisan politics will rather stay at home watching television when they are supposed to be in PTA meeting.
” He stressed that the situation becomes worse when an idea to raise money to employ temporary teachers who would be teaching some subjects like Maths, English and the sciences with no adequate teachers is mooted.
“You won’t see many of the parents again from the next meeting and they are the ones who will be blaming government and schools for their children’s failure,” he added.
Adams, however, pointed out that it was high time parents took the education of their children more seriously and stopped blaming government and schools for their laxity.
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