Educationists Blame Poor WAEC Result on Teachers Deficiency

Educationists blame poor WAEC result on deficiency of
teachers in core subjects. Recruiting more teachers, plus
adequate classrooms and infrastructure will curb the
menace of mass failure.
In reaction to the recent mass failure of candidates in the
West African Senior School Certificate Examination
(WASSCE), in which 70% were said to have failed, the
president, American University of Nigeria (AUN), Prof
Margee Ensign has said that rather than apportion
blames, the root of the problem should be tackled.
Prof Ensign noted that the deficiency of teachers,
especially in core subjects, must be properly addressed,
as research and statistics had proved that the number of
teachers the country had at present cannot address the
issue of mass failure.
Ensign, who made this call yesterday in Abuja, stated that
Nigeria, as a fast growing country, must invest in the
training of teachers as, already, there is a population
explosion which has led to 11 million out-of-school
children, plus inadequate classrooms and infrastructure.
She said the training of teachers must be done
consistently as “200,000 additional teachers are needed
this year and, by next year, an additional 500,000 will be
needed to curb the menace of mass failure and the 11
million out- of-school children must be sent to school
and not traditional schools.”
“A country cannot move forward without education for
girls and women as this will reduce child mortality, as the
number of children that families can have will come
naturally, the women will be able to generate their own
income.”
Similarly, she advised that for maximum improvement
which can be achieved in two years time, “every child
should be provided with a tablet for learning” and that
this should not be seen as luxury but a thing of necessity.
Why Students Fail WAEC – Expert
A renowned educationist, Dr. Irene Osemeka, also lent
her voice to the ongoing debate, saying there has been a
steady decline in the quality of Nigerian students as a
result of their connection to Information
Communication Technology (ICT).
She said, “Of course the poor quality of our students
manifest in many ways. The commonest is the poor
grammatical expression in the use of tenses.”
Educationist Laments Mass Failure
Another educationist, Dr Ibrahim Saka Ominiwe, has
lamented the poor results of the West African Senior
School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), warning that
the trend will be worse unless government does the right
thing to salvage the sector.
Ominiwe who is the president, Education Legacy College,
while speaking at the 9th graduation ceremony in Ibadan
yesterday, said it was unfortunate that government had
not deemed it fit to appointment capable hands to
manage the sector, which he considered as the bedrock
of the nation’s growth and development.
(Leadership)