Nigeria Content Online

Edo State students
have recorded another mass failure in the November/December 2010 NECO
examination, results from the National Examinations Council (NECO) has
shown.

Out of the 25
subjects taken by students from the state, none of the participating
students had up to 50 per cent pass mark in the examination set for
graduating secondary school students.

This has raised
concern among relevant parties, with teachers and parents trading
blames as to who is responsible for the poor academic performances of
students in the state.

Those who spoke to
NEXT on the development attributed the cause of the mass failure to
many factors, including lack of qualified teachers, particularly in
private schools, and the premium they place on money. Others include
lack of reading culture among the students, and loss of societal
values. Owners of private schools were also indicted in the mass
failure of students, as many of them have turned their schools to
‘miracle centres’, where students easily indulge in examination
malpractices after paying high fees to the school owners.

Solomon Osarenren,
who teaches Mathematics in a private school in Benin City, blames lack
of seriousness on the part of the students, lazy approach to study, and
lack of infrastructure in the schools, as some of the factors
responsible for the decline in the performance of the students.

“So long as
students attach more importance to mundane things and spend more time
surfing the Internet and watching movies, it will be difficult for them
to excel in their studies. After all, students of those days performed
even better than students of today, even without those infrastructures
that are in schools of today,” Mr Osarenren said.

An educationist,
Roland Asoro, who decried the rate of mass failure in examinations in
the state in particular and the country at large, advised the
government to take proactive steps to address the trend. He called for
regular training and re-training of teachers, as well as the provision
of learning aids in the schools.

Mr Asoro also
admonished parents and guardians to supervise and regulate activities
of their children at home, with a view to making them more responsible
and serious.

Some parents,
however, said that the bulk of the blame should not be attributed to
them alone. They argue that teachers are also responsible for the poor
performance of students in external examinations.

A parent, Osarobo
Asemota, whose child attends one of the private schools in Benin City,
argued that teachers can only give what they have academically.

According to her,
many of the teachers, especially in some private schools, lack the
minimum qualifications required. She also called for consistency in the
educational policies of government.

“We want all
concerned to urgently address this ugly development. If things continue
the way they are, ten years from now, the country may inherit half
baked workforce,” Ms Asemota said.

When contacted on phone, special assistant on education to Governor
Oshiomhole, Alli Sule, said: “We are still studying the result at the
ministry level. We shall come out with our position later.”