Recently, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) released the results of candidates who sat for its May/June Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). The statistics given by the Head of the National Office of the examination body in Nigeria, Mr. Charles Eguridu while announcing the results in Lagos showed mass failure of candidates in the exam and a steady decline in the overall performance when compared to the last two years. Out of 1,605,613 candidates who have their results fully released so far, only 529,425, representing 31.28 per cent obtained credit passes and above in five subjects, including English language and Mathematics.
The implication of this poor outing is that the remaining 69.72 per cent of the candidates have no minimum requisite academic qualification that can secure them admission into any higher institutions of learning in the country this academic calendar. Master Samuel Owoade, 17, who graduated from Achievers College, Ibadan, Oyo State, is one of them.
He managed to have credit passes only in English Language and Biology out of the eight subjects he sat for. Victor Ogunsola from Eyes on the Future Schools, Agege, Lagos, is another candidate.
On his part, he has credit passes in three subjects, excluding English Language and Mathematics. While both claimed that they prepared very well for the exams by following WAEC’s syllabus under the tutelage of committed and hardworking teachers, they blamed the exam body for their failure. According to them, WAEC is too strict with their marking scheme.
“So, as far as my school is concerned, our problem was not that of whether our teachers taught us very well or not and it was not also that we didn’t prepare enough for the exam, WAEC was not just been fair in their markings,” Owoade said.
“And that was why I was surprised that I failed the exam and I will advice WAEC not to be too strict in their markings in future so that average candidates can have at least the required results for university admission every year.”
Another candidate, Gabriel Negedu, from Kogi State blamed the late arrival of WAEC invigilators to their school for mass failure, especially in English Language. He explained that while all of them had fully prepared for the exam, WAEC’s officials arrived behind scheduled at times.
“For instance, on the day we wrote English language, they still created confusion such that we were phychologically unbalanced throughout the period of the exam,” he stressed. Unlike those above who blamed WAEC, Kaosarat Lawal of Ansarudeen Comprehensive College, Sango-Ota, Ogun State and Samiat Gbadamosi of Eistein College, Ajegunle, Lagos State, on their part, blamed their schools for their failure. Kaosarat, who has only three credits out of eight subjects told National Mirror that, it was not a new thing that her school recorded mass failure in WAEC exams.
According to her, SSCE results in her school are always poor year-in and year- out without the school finding permanent solution to the problem. But Samiat who is yet to check her result for fear of failure accused her school of changing teachers all the time without considering whether they would be able to cover the syllabus or not.
Miss Nkechi Okikeke of Government Day Secondary School, Adankolo, Lokoja, Kogi State like many of her mates also blamed teachers for the poor performance of students in the exam.
She alleged that many teachers not only in her school but also in numerous others in Kogi State are fond of giving notes to students to copy rather than showing up in class to teach.
Even those that come according to her stay only for a while in class without properly imparting knowledge concerning their subjects on students. “I believe you know the implication of this, especially on many of us who are reluctant to learn,” she quipped.
David Chimkaodinaka, who graduated from Infant Jesus Academy, Abuja has similar compliant. He passed only two subjects which are Commerce (C4) and Christian Religion Studies (A-1) out of the eight subjects he sat for.
He apportioned a lion-share of the blame for his failure to his school, which he accused of changing subject teachers frequently. According to him, our school changes subject teachers even when students are yet to get use to them and this situation is taking huge toll on our performance in exams.
The students from Borno State on their own attributed their failure to the prevailing insecurity situation in the state and other parts of the North east. They claimed that they did not only sit for the exam in fear of possible attacks by the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram members, they equally studied and prepared for the exam and did all other things also in fear.
Usman Yaro, who graduated from Government College, Maiduguri, for instance, explained that the insecurity situation had made both the teachers and students to lack full concentration on their works.
He also claimed that the closure of many schools in the state with attendant overcrowded classrooms in the functioning ones equally contributed to the mass failure. Even while many of these candidates blamed external factors for their failure, some admitted that students have their own part of the blame. One of those with this view is Bright Bassey from Gootly Secondary School, Agbado, Lagos.
She noted that her school parades good facilities and qualified and committed teachers, but some of the students were not serious with their studies. She said she would have come out with a better result other than one A, 2Bs and four credits he has if he had work harder.
Reward Emmanuel from St. Kizito Girls Secondary School, Nassarawa State also blamed himself for his failure, noting that he did not prepare very well for the exam. Babatunde Ajiboye, who finished from Jos, Plateau State said although he was yet to check his result, he would attribute the mass failure to students and their parents who failed in their respective duties.
Similarly, Comfort Moses, from Akure Academy, Ondo State pointed out that most students in the state failed the exam because of the ban placed on miracle centres which many of them had relied on to perpetrate malpractice. She on her part has credit passes and above in seven subjects, excluding English language.
“With my result, I will now devote more attention for English language so as to pass the subject with distinction in the forthcoming WAEC’s Nov/Dec exam,” she disclosed. Just like Bassey, Ajiboye and Moses, Phebe Ajalusi, who finished from Airport Secondary School, Abuja, also blamed students for the poor outing. According to her, many students relied on miracle centres and when such are not forthcoming, the consequence is mass failure. Ajalusi passed all her subjects including English and Mathematics very well
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