Monday, January 28, 2013
Abraham Lincoln brings us enduring wisdom in a nutshell.
Monday, May 21, 2012
"A WOMAN IN HER PRIME"by asare konadu:as an account of aspiration,disappointment and fulfilment in the life of pokuwaa,in the story
Woman is a critical novel of village life with a progressive message that is modern but not reactionary. [ It deals with the problems of an African woman, Pokuwaa, who is in her 30s and has not had any children, considered a tragic condition by her society, not least by her mother. She has fired two husbands for this reason and her third, Kwadwo, is fearful of losing her. He loves her for her own sake: she has grown up to be a strong person and a good farmer. It is Kwadwo who provides the unconditional acceptance that helps her to resist the psychological pressure of her life (although the author understates this nicely). Abetted by her obsessed mother Pokuwaa has been visiting various shamans and healers. But the omens are never good. When lightening strikes and burns an old tree near the village there is ominous talk of looking about for a witch. Pokuwaa's mother sees things the old way and is much alarmed. The last straw for Pokuwaa is when she comes across the body of a man near her farm. Out of fear, she doesn't say anything, letting the men go out and find the missing man themselves. A dire episode indeed. But the last straw is a good thing for Pokuwaa. She gives up on the magic, on the theories of fate. She decides that she must just let life run its course. She gives up her burden. Ah, but this is a West African 60s novel, all 107 pages. So in no time at all she is pregnant and lives happily ever after. I think that Konadu wanted to make the point that a woman needn't have a child to be fulfilled (at least, no more than a man does): she comes to peace with herself first, gets pregnant after. But his view is that the traditional folkloric account that defined the emotional regime under which Pokuwaa lived was oppressing her, and perhaps contributing to her problems. That is, his target was not so much sexism as superstition, although he understood the negative social consequences for women of magical explanation.
Review: Women of Owu by Femi Osofisan
Review: Women of Owu by Femi Osofisan
March 4, 2011
tags: Femi Osofisan, Nigeria
Title: Women of Owu
Author: Osofisan, Femi
Length: 78 pages
Genre: Fiction, Play, History
Publisher / Year: University Press PLC, Ibadan / 2006
Source: Book Depository
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: I heard about Osofisan somewhere and picked up this and Who’s Afraid of Solarin?.
Date Read: 03/03/11
This was the second play I’ve read this year, both of which were by Osofisan. Unfortunately I did not love this one as much, but I still found it very interesting. This play is an African retelling of Euripides’ The Trojan Women and I also suspect that I would have gotten a lot more from this play had I read the original.
As per the notes on the play, Owu was a city-state in the south of current Nigeria which was under siege for seven years by the combined armies of Ijebu and Ife, as well as mercenaries recruited from the Oyo refugees. The city was attacked under the guise of liberating a market from their control but in the end all men and children were murdered, women were taken as slaves, and the city was burned to the ground.
The play would be fantastic to see live, I’m sure, as it is not only a play but also full of music and dirges. These dirges are transcribed and translated in the back but as the author notes, ‘their essence is to be distilled more from the mood and atmosphere they create’ so simply reading the translated lyrics really doesn’t do them justice. Simply reading them and imagining them sung, especially as they fit in to the play itself, is still rather evocative and one can get a sense of what an experience the live play would be.
Although based on a play which was written so long ago, and based on events that happened over a hundred years ago, the events discussed still feel so current to our own times. I especially liked this quote found on page 8:
Woman: Nowadays,
When the strong fight the weak, it’s called
A Libeartion War
To free the weak from oppression.
And similarly the following exchange on page 13:
Woman: Liars! You came, you said
To help free our people from a wicked king. Now,
After your liberation, here we are
With our spirits broken and our faces swollen
Waiting to be turned into whores and housemaids
In your towns. I too, I curse you!
Erelu: Savages! You claim to be more civilized than us
But did you have to carry out all this killing and carnage
To show you are stronger than us? Did you
Have to plunge all these women here into mourning
Just to seize control over our famous Apomu market
Known all over for its uncommon merchandise?
Woman: No, Erulu, what are you saying?
Are you forgetting?
They do not want our market at all-
Woman: They are not interested in such petty things
As profit-
Woman: Only in lofty, lofty ideas, like freedom-
Woman: Or human rights-
…
Woman: Bless the kindness which has rescued us
From tyranny in order to plunge us into slavery!
A rather long excerpt but one that many would still hold happens all the world over today. We still hear the same laments and curses!
There were also interesting discussions about who is really in charge of your destiny. Do the gods control everything? There is an interesting exchange where they simply create more and more war. Or is it men who are in control or their own fates and the gods not important? Both ideas are presented and differing characters hold differing views.
What bothered me was of course what sets the play in its ultimate comparison to Euripides’ play. Iyunloye is the Helen in this play and the situation where the other women are calling her out as an adulteress and she is bargaining for her rights is… well… slightly repugnant to me. The way it is portrayed is that one look at her and the Maye won’t be able to stick to his plan of punishing her. She is willy and tricky and seeks to control men through her looks. She has indeed been used as a bargaining chip by both sides and is equally blamed by both sides. It really didn’t seem all that fair to me!
A lot to think on in this play that I really haven’t even touched. Definitely worth reading and I would recommend it to all.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Thursday, October 13, 2011
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND THE WAY FORWARD by Ochai Donatus
Environmental sustainability is the ability of individual, Government and group of people to develop policy that can used to make the environment a place to call home.But if we look at the activity of man on earth,it has destroyed this policy and thereby causing harm to man and other organism staying on the earth surface. Below are some of the problems caused by the inability of man to sustain his environment.
1. Outbreak of disease:- If we refuse to take proper care of our environment,it will lead to outbreak of diseases like cholera, diarrhea and dysentery. If this problem is not properly managed ,it may lead to death.
2.Erosion:- This is the washing away of the uppermost part of the soil .The effect of erosion can be reduced if we develop the proper way of disposing refuse in the right place.
3. Flooding:- /This is very bad because it has taken many lives in this country.Flooding is caused as a result of we not allowing water to follow the normal channel it is supposed to to flow through and this is as a result of building on the water ways or water channels.
4. Ozone depletion:- This is normally caused as a result of man's activities on earth,especially when tree are being cut down by man in the forest without replacing it. The effect of this problem is that at times it leads to desert encroachment or desertification.
5. Pollution:- This, also, makes the environment in-conducive for man to live,because this problem always lead to water pollution or air pollution which leads to breathing problem and so on.
Some solutions to the problems:
1. Through regular cleaning of our environment:- This can be done if we partake in cleaning our environment daily and participating in the weekly or monthly sanitation exercise. This will help to reduce the effect of soil erosion and other environmental hazards that lead to untimely death.
2. Erecting building in the proper place but not on water channels. this can be done by getting a proper approved plan before building in order to avoid flooding.
3. Planting of trees:- This will encourage people to stay in a particular place;if the environment is not conducive,people will not like to stay in such a environment.
4. Disposing the refuse at the proper place:- When refuse are kept in the proper place,it will reduce some of the problems mentioned above.
1. Outbreak of disease:- If we refuse to take proper care of our environment,it will lead to outbreak of diseases like cholera, diarrhea and dysentery. If this problem is not properly managed ,it may lead to death.
2.Erosion:- This is the washing away of the uppermost part of the soil .The effect of erosion can be reduced if we develop the proper way of disposing refuse in the right place.
3. Flooding:- /This is very bad because it has taken many lives in this country.Flooding is caused as a result of we not allowing water to follow the normal channel it is supposed to to flow through and this is as a result of building on the water ways or water channels.
4. Ozone depletion:- This is normally caused as a result of man's activities on earth,especially when tree are being cut down by man in the forest without replacing it. The effect of this problem is that at times it leads to desert encroachment or desertification.
5. Pollution:- This, also, makes the environment in-conducive for man to live,because this problem always lead to water pollution or air pollution which leads to breathing problem and so on.
Some solutions to the problems:
1. Through regular cleaning of our environment:- This can be done if we partake in cleaning our environment daily and participating in the weekly or monthly sanitation exercise. This will help to reduce the effect of soil erosion and other environmental hazards that lead to untimely death.
2. Erecting building in the proper place but not on water channels. this can be done by getting a proper approved plan before building in order to avoid flooding.
3. Planting of trees:- This will encourage people to stay in a particular place;if the environment is not conducive,people will not like to stay in such a environment.
4. Disposing the refuse at the proper place:- When refuse are kept in the proper place,it will reduce some of the problems mentioned above.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Mass failure: Scrutinise WAEC, teachers – Stakeholders By Olunike Asaolu and Motunrayo Aboderin
READ THIS EXCERPT FROM THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER DATED 19TH AUGUST,2011
Results of the 2011 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination were released last week. Though the best in three years, less than 31 per cent of candidates had credits in five subjects including maths and English, prompting experts to project the way forward. Olunike Asaolu and Motunrayo Aboderin report.
A breakdown of this year’s May/June West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination showed that 51.7 per cent, that is 789,288 of the 1,540,250 candidates, that sat for the examination got five credits and above. Out of this, only 30.70 per cent, that is, 472,906 had credits in five subjects including English and mathematics.
This was an improvement on the results of previous years. For instance, 24.94 per cent of candidates obtained credits in English Language, mathematics and at least three other subjects in May/June, 2010. In 2009, only 356,981, representing 25.99 per cent obtained credits and above in English Language, mathematics and other subjects, while in 2008, only 13.76 per cent of the 1,369,142 candidates that sat for the examination in May/June had five credits passes and above in English, mathematics and other subjects. In 2007, only 25.54 per cent obtained credits and above in two subjects and three others.
The implication of this is that less than 31 per cent of candidates that sat for the senior secondary school examination qualified for admission to tertiary institutions in Nigeria. To gain admission to tertiary institutions in the country, a candidate must have five credits in at least five subjects including maths and English.
To sustain the improvement in this year’s results, and ensure better performance of candidates in subsequent years, experts have said that efforts should be geared towards ensuring that pupils overcome the fear and inability to pass core subjects, particularly English and Mathematics.
Stakeholders are of the opinion that everybody, including government, parents, teachers, schools and pupils should come together to solve the problem of mass failure in exams organised by the West African Examination Council and other examination bodies.
The Director of Green Academy, Lagos, Mr. Johnson Ajayi, said though there was an improvement in the recent WASSCE results compared to the last three years; Nigerians could not afford to celebrate because the success rate was still poor.
He said, “This statistical trend has only suggested that the walls of education in our country are cracking and if not taken care of, the whole building will collapse. Mathematics and English which are the basic and the foundation of any form of education have always been a problem for most secondary school pupils and those in higher institutions. This is simply so because the foundation has not been properly laid at the nursery and primary level. When a pupil is not properly groomed in these subjects at the elementary level, it’s most likely he will find it difficult to attain excellence and outstanding success at the secondary and the tertiary level.
“So, the question is how do we groom them at the elementary level? A research conducted on how we learn some years ago, has revealed that the least effective way to learn is via reading and the second least effective way is via lectures. Our current system of education relies heavily on reading and lectures. This is not to say that reading and lectures are not important, this only points out to the lack of long-term effectiveness of those teaching methods. The most effective way of learning is via simulations (doing it real) or games and this is called active learning. Active learning engages a person’s body, mind, emotion and spirit in learning. Pictures alone communicate better than lectures.”
He, therefore, suggested incorporation of new technologies into the system in order to achieve positive results. “The educational system of our country needs to incorporate new technologies such as creating a central database to monitor the growth, performance and effectiveness of schools nationwide. This will afford government the opportunity to appraise the schools and also create room for improvement. It will also improve the process of learning in the schools. If, for instance, we automate lesson notes and lectures using interactive boards and also incorporate research and development option in their curriculum using the internet and other technologies,” he added.
But an examiner for WAEC, Mr. Adelekan Ogunronbi, identified lack of consideration and unwillingness to learn as the number one reason for failing maths and English. He said most pupils had already tuned their mind to the fact that they could not pass maths and English, so they unconsciously failed to put in the required efforts to understand the subjects.
He said, “All other subjects are taught in English, so why is English now a problem. This shows that pupils are not willing to learn. The interest to pass English or maths is not there. I have heard pupils say maths is too hard.
“Also, we should focus on the type of teachers that teach maths and English. Teaching maths especially is not a joke, and not just any teacher can teach the subject. This is one area schools should focus on. They should employ teachers that understand the subjects they are employed to teach.’’
Asked if WAEC in any way contributed to pupils failing maths and English, so as to rip money off the pupils, Ogunronbi said, “I totally disagree. WAEC is not to blame. As a marker, we have a scheme we follow. If we are marking a script and the answers written don’t correlate with the scheme, we marked it wrong. Pupils should not put the blame on WAEC. They should take responsibility for their actions. If you fail to read, then be prepared to fail.”
An educationist, Mr. Ayo Ajayi, observed that with only 30.7 per cent having five credits in maths and English and other subjects, Nigeria is not likely to achieve its developmental goals.
“Over the years, English and maths have become a problem because of some reasons, which include low education standard, unmotivated teachers, poor and corrupt leadership, insufficient instructional materials and unfriendly environment with dilapidated buildings. We should also not shy away from the fact that nowadays, there is so much distraction from technology, internet and social networks.
“Also, unemployment has discouraged pupils from studying hard. When they see their seniors or elders unemployed after graduation, they don’t bother themselves studying anymore.”
A government consultant and motivational speaker, Dr. Emmanuel Atalor, identified five major reasons why pupils fail maths and English. First, he said the people in government were not thinkers. According to him, all that government officials care about is the future of their children and not that of the nation. He said Nigerian leaders were blind and deaf towards the concerns of the nation.
Second, he identified parents as a major cause. He said a significant percentage of pupils were from broken homes. “You can easily identify a child who comes from a broken home and one who comes from a peaceful home.
“Also, parents who assist their children in cheating should be scolded, not the children. As a parent, if you train your child to cheat during exams, you are a failure yourself, and someday, you will have to pay for the consequences,” he said.
In addition, Atalor identified teachers as another group of people that contributed largely to mass failure in public examinations. “Based on my findings, 99 per cent of teachers don’t belong there. They have no interest or passion for the profession; they become teachers out of boredom. When a graduate leaves the university, his zeal to work is high. But after years of sitting at home, he resorts to teaching. There is no motivation to teach.
“Furthermore, WAEC as a body should be thoroughly scrutinised. A large number of WAEC officials are corrupt, which directly makes the body corrupt. I have witnessed instances where WAEC officials allow pupils to open their textbooks while writing their exams. You even hear of private schools that bribe WAEC officials.
“WAEC has become big time money- making scheme, and Nigeria constitutes 80 per cent of WAEC candidates in Africa. So why won’t pupils continue to fail their exams, the more pupils that repeat their exams, the more money WAEC makes. Every year, WAEC makes N12-N15bn. This has become a big time business. Or should I speak on the issue about WAEC changing results. A pupil who was not very brilliant in school ends up with an A1s in his WASSCE results,” he alleged.
He said the way forward was to judge pupils based on the cumulative grade point average. He added that maths and English should no more be the criteria for admission. He said, “A pupil that wants to study fashion design in school does not need maths. It is wrong to prevent a pupil from going ahead to pursue his or her dreams just because the pupil failed maths or English. This is not to say maths and English are not important, but it should not become criteria for admission.”
A WAEC examiner and teacher in one of the public schools, who does not want his name in print, disclosed that while WAEC might not be interested in failing pupils, its mark scheme is too rigid, and this directly or indirectly affects pupils’ results.
He said, “As an examiner, we don’t mark outside the mark scheme, so if a pupil’s answers are not corresponding to what we have on the scheme, even if he is making a point, he may score nothing or less. I think this affects pupils’ results, WAEC, should therefore, be a bit flexible in order to reduce mass failure.
“Another thing is that its questions are being set by professors, and this should not be so. Questions should be set and handled by teachers, who teach these pupils, because they understand the pupils’ language, their level of understanding and will be able to give them what they should do. The level of the professors is just too high for the pupils, so setting of questions should be handled by teachers.”
However, a professor of Education Psychology at the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, Prof. Mopelola Omoegun, absolved WAEC of any form of blame. According to her, the organisation is just performing its responsibilities and not interested in failing any pupil or setting tough questions.
“I suggest that every school should encourage teachers who are examiners to teach examination classes or organise seminars, to educate pupils on what WAEC requires of them. As an examiner and a teacher, this is the method I adopted in teaching my pupils and I was always telling them that if they attended my class regularly they could not fail.”
She, however, noted that pupils’ poor performance in these core subjects particularly in English was due to negligence and ignorance. “Pupils tend to perform poorly because they are taking the subject for granted.
“Also, we can as well say that those who are teaching them are not paying attention to the technicalities involved. Teachers need more training on new methods of teaching. English should be split into different aspects such as lexis and structures, grammar, comprehension, etc, all these should have their different periods, and we cannot combine all in a period and have good results. Mathematics, for some years, has been regarded as a bone of contention. Some pupils have made up their minds that they cannot know it. For such pupils, teachers should think of methods that will help them to enjoy the subject, they should be encouraged to have self talk like ‘I can pass maths,’ they should make maths lesson more practical in approach, more relevant, objects can be used for illustration, and get pupils more involved in class,” she said.
In addition, Omoegun identified underage, immaturity, overpopulation and inability of the school to cover the syllabus before examination period, as contributory factors to mass failure.
She said, “One of the major problems is that most schools don’t cover the WAEC syllabus before the examination and this definitely affects the performance of pupils. WAEC sets questions on what they have in the syllabus, so teachers should be encouraged to finish the syllabus before exam.
Omoegun also urged government to provide adequate funds for the education sector in order to curb this menace and other problems associated with it. “To achieve positive results, I believe government should put the right peg in the right hole at federal and state levels, those who are in the field should be involved in decision and policy making. More funds should be pumped into the system, this will go a long way to motivate teachers, provide needed materials and basic infrastructure,” she added.
Comments :
Parents, Guardians, School authorities and government agent should ban or restrict or regulate and monitor the activities(Home video, Computer and other game, Dstv, HiTv, association)of these students. Otherwise, no bright future for the nation, parents, family and society at large. Governments & Organisations should also be blamed and change altitude towards certificate emphasis. Exemptional performance of both students & teachers not rewarded. Some pass or 3rd class students performed better.
Posted by: BANJO Stephen Abisoye , on Friday, August 19, 2011
Report this comment
Students no longer fear failures due to automatic promotion imposed on schools by political governors in variours state. Blame poor results on parential guidance’s failures, Home videos, computer games, Dstv and Hi Tv football shows(Premier & champion leagues) not teachers. God provide them brain to assimilate & memorized, government provide books, classrooms, pay teachers even pay WAEC, NECO, parents provide foods, cloths etc, but they will not research and read. imagine cults in secondary sch
Posted by: BANJO Stephen Abisoye , on Friday, August 19, 2011
Results of the 2011 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination were released last week. Though the best in three years, less than 31 per cent of candidates had credits in five subjects including maths and English, prompting experts to project the way forward. Olunike Asaolu and Motunrayo Aboderin report.
A breakdown of this year’s May/June West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination showed that 51.7 per cent, that is 789,288 of the 1,540,250 candidates, that sat for the examination got five credits and above. Out of this, only 30.70 per cent, that is, 472,906 had credits in five subjects including English and mathematics.
This was an improvement on the results of previous years. For instance, 24.94 per cent of candidates obtained credits in English Language, mathematics and at least three other subjects in May/June, 2010. In 2009, only 356,981, representing 25.99 per cent obtained credits and above in English Language, mathematics and other subjects, while in 2008, only 13.76 per cent of the 1,369,142 candidates that sat for the examination in May/June had five credits passes and above in English, mathematics and other subjects. In 2007, only 25.54 per cent obtained credits and above in two subjects and three others.
The implication of this is that less than 31 per cent of candidates that sat for the senior secondary school examination qualified for admission to tertiary institutions in Nigeria. To gain admission to tertiary institutions in the country, a candidate must have five credits in at least five subjects including maths and English.
To sustain the improvement in this year’s results, and ensure better performance of candidates in subsequent years, experts have said that efforts should be geared towards ensuring that pupils overcome the fear and inability to pass core subjects, particularly English and Mathematics.
Stakeholders are of the opinion that everybody, including government, parents, teachers, schools and pupils should come together to solve the problem of mass failure in exams organised by the West African Examination Council and other examination bodies.
The Director of Green Academy, Lagos, Mr. Johnson Ajayi, said though there was an improvement in the recent WASSCE results compared to the last three years; Nigerians could not afford to celebrate because the success rate was still poor.
He said, “This statistical trend has only suggested that the walls of education in our country are cracking and if not taken care of, the whole building will collapse. Mathematics and English which are the basic and the foundation of any form of education have always been a problem for most secondary school pupils and those in higher institutions. This is simply so because the foundation has not been properly laid at the nursery and primary level. When a pupil is not properly groomed in these subjects at the elementary level, it’s most likely he will find it difficult to attain excellence and outstanding success at the secondary and the tertiary level.
“So, the question is how do we groom them at the elementary level? A research conducted on how we learn some years ago, has revealed that the least effective way to learn is via reading and the second least effective way is via lectures. Our current system of education relies heavily on reading and lectures. This is not to say that reading and lectures are not important, this only points out to the lack of long-term effectiveness of those teaching methods. The most effective way of learning is via simulations (doing it real) or games and this is called active learning. Active learning engages a person’s body, mind, emotion and spirit in learning. Pictures alone communicate better than lectures.”
He, therefore, suggested incorporation of new technologies into the system in order to achieve positive results. “The educational system of our country needs to incorporate new technologies such as creating a central database to monitor the growth, performance and effectiveness of schools nationwide. This will afford government the opportunity to appraise the schools and also create room for improvement. It will also improve the process of learning in the schools. If, for instance, we automate lesson notes and lectures using interactive boards and also incorporate research and development option in their curriculum using the internet and other technologies,” he added.
But an examiner for WAEC, Mr. Adelekan Ogunronbi, identified lack of consideration and unwillingness to learn as the number one reason for failing maths and English. He said most pupils had already tuned their mind to the fact that they could not pass maths and English, so they unconsciously failed to put in the required efforts to understand the subjects.
He said, “All other subjects are taught in English, so why is English now a problem. This shows that pupils are not willing to learn. The interest to pass English or maths is not there. I have heard pupils say maths is too hard.
“Also, we should focus on the type of teachers that teach maths and English. Teaching maths especially is not a joke, and not just any teacher can teach the subject. This is one area schools should focus on. They should employ teachers that understand the subjects they are employed to teach.’’
Asked if WAEC in any way contributed to pupils failing maths and English, so as to rip money off the pupils, Ogunronbi said, “I totally disagree. WAEC is not to blame. As a marker, we have a scheme we follow. If we are marking a script and the answers written don’t correlate with the scheme, we marked it wrong. Pupils should not put the blame on WAEC. They should take responsibility for their actions. If you fail to read, then be prepared to fail.”
An educationist, Mr. Ayo Ajayi, observed that with only 30.7 per cent having five credits in maths and English and other subjects, Nigeria is not likely to achieve its developmental goals.
“Over the years, English and maths have become a problem because of some reasons, which include low education standard, unmotivated teachers, poor and corrupt leadership, insufficient instructional materials and unfriendly environment with dilapidated buildings. We should also not shy away from the fact that nowadays, there is so much distraction from technology, internet and social networks.
“Also, unemployment has discouraged pupils from studying hard. When they see their seniors or elders unemployed after graduation, they don’t bother themselves studying anymore.”
A government consultant and motivational speaker, Dr. Emmanuel Atalor, identified five major reasons why pupils fail maths and English. First, he said the people in government were not thinkers. According to him, all that government officials care about is the future of their children and not that of the nation. He said Nigerian leaders were blind and deaf towards the concerns of the nation.
Second, he identified parents as a major cause. He said a significant percentage of pupils were from broken homes. “You can easily identify a child who comes from a broken home and one who comes from a peaceful home.
“Also, parents who assist their children in cheating should be scolded, not the children. As a parent, if you train your child to cheat during exams, you are a failure yourself, and someday, you will have to pay for the consequences,” he said.
In addition, Atalor identified teachers as another group of people that contributed largely to mass failure in public examinations. “Based on my findings, 99 per cent of teachers don’t belong there. They have no interest or passion for the profession; they become teachers out of boredom. When a graduate leaves the university, his zeal to work is high. But after years of sitting at home, he resorts to teaching. There is no motivation to teach.
“Furthermore, WAEC as a body should be thoroughly scrutinised. A large number of WAEC officials are corrupt, which directly makes the body corrupt. I have witnessed instances where WAEC officials allow pupils to open their textbooks while writing their exams. You even hear of private schools that bribe WAEC officials.
“WAEC has become big time money- making scheme, and Nigeria constitutes 80 per cent of WAEC candidates in Africa. So why won’t pupils continue to fail their exams, the more pupils that repeat their exams, the more money WAEC makes. Every year, WAEC makes N12-N15bn. This has become a big time business. Or should I speak on the issue about WAEC changing results. A pupil who was not very brilliant in school ends up with an A1s in his WASSCE results,” he alleged.
He said the way forward was to judge pupils based on the cumulative grade point average. He added that maths and English should no more be the criteria for admission. He said, “A pupil that wants to study fashion design in school does not need maths. It is wrong to prevent a pupil from going ahead to pursue his or her dreams just because the pupil failed maths or English. This is not to say maths and English are not important, but it should not become criteria for admission.”
A WAEC examiner and teacher in one of the public schools, who does not want his name in print, disclosed that while WAEC might not be interested in failing pupils, its mark scheme is too rigid, and this directly or indirectly affects pupils’ results.
He said, “As an examiner, we don’t mark outside the mark scheme, so if a pupil’s answers are not corresponding to what we have on the scheme, even if he is making a point, he may score nothing or less. I think this affects pupils’ results, WAEC, should therefore, be a bit flexible in order to reduce mass failure.
“Another thing is that its questions are being set by professors, and this should not be so. Questions should be set and handled by teachers, who teach these pupils, because they understand the pupils’ language, their level of understanding and will be able to give them what they should do. The level of the professors is just too high for the pupils, so setting of questions should be handled by teachers.”
However, a professor of Education Psychology at the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos, Prof. Mopelola Omoegun, absolved WAEC of any form of blame. According to her, the organisation is just performing its responsibilities and not interested in failing any pupil or setting tough questions.
“I suggest that every school should encourage teachers who are examiners to teach examination classes or organise seminars, to educate pupils on what WAEC requires of them. As an examiner and a teacher, this is the method I adopted in teaching my pupils and I was always telling them that if they attended my class regularly they could not fail.”
She, however, noted that pupils’ poor performance in these core subjects particularly in English was due to negligence and ignorance. “Pupils tend to perform poorly because they are taking the subject for granted.
“Also, we can as well say that those who are teaching them are not paying attention to the technicalities involved. Teachers need more training on new methods of teaching. English should be split into different aspects such as lexis and structures, grammar, comprehension, etc, all these should have their different periods, and we cannot combine all in a period and have good results. Mathematics, for some years, has been regarded as a bone of contention. Some pupils have made up their minds that they cannot know it. For such pupils, teachers should think of methods that will help them to enjoy the subject, they should be encouraged to have self talk like ‘I can pass maths,’ they should make maths lesson more practical in approach, more relevant, objects can be used for illustration, and get pupils more involved in class,” she said.
In addition, Omoegun identified underage, immaturity, overpopulation and inability of the school to cover the syllabus before examination period, as contributory factors to mass failure.
She said, “One of the major problems is that most schools don’t cover the WAEC syllabus before the examination and this definitely affects the performance of pupils. WAEC sets questions on what they have in the syllabus, so teachers should be encouraged to finish the syllabus before exam.
Omoegun also urged government to provide adequate funds for the education sector in order to curb this menace and other problems associated with it. “To achieve positive results, I believe government should put the right peg in the right hole at federal and state levels, those who are in the field should be involved in decision and policy making. More funds should be pumped into the system, this will go a long way to motivate teachers, provide needed materials and basic infrastructure,” she added.
Comments :
Parents, Guardians, School authorities and government agent should ban or restrict or regulate and monitor the activities(Home video, Computer and other game, Dstv, HiTv, association)of these students. Otherwise, no bright future for the nation, parents, family and society at large. Governments & Organisations should also be blamed and change altitude towards certificate emphasis. Exemptional performance of both students & teachers not rewarded. Some pass or 3rd class students performed better.
Posted by: BANJO Stephen Abisoye , on Friday, August 19, 2011
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Students no longer fear failures due to automatic promotion imposed on schools by political governors in variours state. Blame poor results on parential guidance’s failures, Home videos, computer games, Dstv and Hi Tv football shows(Premier & champion leagues) not teachers. God provide them brain to assimilate & memorized, government provide books, classrooms, pay teachers even pay WAEC, NECO, parents provide foods, cloths etc, but they will not research and read. imagine cults in secondary sch
Posted by: BANJO Stephen Abisoye , on Friday, August 19, 2011
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