Mass failure hits Nigerian students

[emezico]

Decades of neglect and underfunding of Nigeria's education sector raised again its ugly head when the country's National Examination Council (NECO) announced another round of mass failure among students who sat for November/December 2010 senior secondary school examination (SSCE)

Statistics released by the examination body, headquartered in Minna, Niger State, shows that an alarming 98 per cent of students who wrote the NECO exam failed to secure minimum five credits required to gain admission into various post secondary schools.

Only  4,223 – about 1.7 percent – of the 256,827 candidates had credits in five subjects including English and Mathematics.

A further breakdown shows that 51,781 of 235,933 candidates, representing 20.16 per cent, passed English Language; 34.18 per cent or 87,508 candidates of the 234,959 who sat for Mathematics recorded credit pass, a Nigerian daily, The Nation, indicates.

The issue of mass failure is not the first in Nigeria, but a reoccurring dilemma that has become worrisome to education expats in the West African country.

Foremost Nigerian literary scholar, Wole Soyinka back in 2006 lamented on poor reading culture among the country's students and declare a crusade to revive reading in Nigerian schools.
The Nobel laureate in December 2010, also, partnered with Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan to launch a rebranded national reading and literacy project, called the "Bring Back the Book" campaign, which critic slammed as a pre-election campaign jamboree that lacked substance.

In a country where barely 69 per cent of the population have access to education programs, majority of Nigerian students attend public funded schools that are not regionally nor globally competitive.

Education expats blamed the unacceptable poor academic performance of students on failed governments policies, sub-standard academic infrastructures, poorly trained teachers, lack of outside school supports and high level of poverty.

In February, a United Nations report published by nigeriansabroadlive.com indicates that more than 90 millions Nigerians are "multidimensionally poor" – deprived of basic health, education and living standards.


Source: Nigerians Abroad