The West African Examinations Council has just released its May/June 2015 Senior School Certificate Examination results and there is a little respite regarding the success rate of candidates who participated in the examination. According to the release, about 39 per cent of the candidates have at least five credits including English Language and Mathematics, a significant improvement on the 31 per cent that had such results in 2014. It may be too early to fully judge whether this development is a mere happenstance or a tangible feat by the collective efforts of stakeholders in education namely the examination bodies, the Ministry of Education, schools, teachers, parents, and even students themselves, aiming to combat the alarming trend of failure particularly in recent years. Kudos may however still go their way for putting on a more resolute front lately in addressing the rather worrisome condition of primary and secondary school education in the country.

Be that as it may, things are still quite far from where and what they ought to be. Sixty one per cent failure in an examination prepared for a whole six years of secondary school, with revealing antecedents in question papers of past years, and with the gingering prospect of qualifying the student for a tertiary education, cannot not be regarded as a pass mark for the different stakeholders bearing in mind that a sizable fraction of this large percentage, for lack of boldness, financial buoyancy or guidance, would not make further attempts to retake the papers thus stalling their education and limiting their future prospects. The ones who repeat are by and large also not guaranteed to pass. So, the situation is such that over 50 per cent of school leavers are prematurely capped by the lid of a basic certificate, year in year out, without a system to properly redirect them to vocational trainings embedded with academic knowledge. The direct and indirect results of this anomaly are a compromised potential of the youth population and a continually dwindling reading culture.

But why do students fail exams? The most plausible reasons are lack of focus, diligence and preparation on the part of the students themselves. And these reasons are quite prevalent, particularly with all the distractions of this time. Back then in the eighties when the average home had the privilege of viewing only one or two local television stations for a maximum of between eight and 12 hours of the weekday and weekend respectively, and the almost forgotten Video Cassette Player, then a new innovation which only the rich could afford, it was a lot easier naturally for students to come into a study mode and prepare intensely for final and qualifying exams like the WASCCE and the University Matriculation Examination. For even an average student at that time, focus is not so easily broken with reading taking more attention than any other activity. Television? No show! Internet and social media? Non-existent.

A quick travel back to the present and a serious problem emerges. On the one hand, the standard of education has generally dropped from all indications partly because learning in most of our schools has not evolved into conceptualised modules for students’ smooth consumption. On the other hand, today’s students, though so privileged with much access to learning, are encumbered with so much distraction because the same means of access, namely the Internet, social media, electronic devices, CDs and DVDs, cable TV, with tens of stations on one bouquet running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, are also chief avenues for sheer frivolities. Poor school system, disgruntled teachers, and too busy parents have consequently not been able to effectively help the students maximise the multifaceted offerings of media beamed right in their faces rather than just indulging in their overwhelming excesses.

Whether back in the days or now, however, the vital yardstick for success in any major examination is the state of preparedness of the student, as all distractions in this world are not enough to stop a smart and brilliant student schooled and structured in not necessarily how hard to prepare but how well. The drift therefore is, as critically important as the ideals of diligence and preparation are key to students’ success, they must also be viewed from more subtle angles than mere covering the syllabus or reading to pass without an intelligent approach. A humble submission here, which may be a bit surprising, is that more students fail exam for lack of the right approach to preparation rather than no exertion at all to read. Whether in the old solo media age or the current social media era, this assertion largely holds!

Essentially, and to speak the mind of examination bodies like WAEC, there are more subtle reasons why students fail exams, which will be carefully highlighted here, and attention needs to be paid to them to reduce the failure figure and rate. First is not following the trend of exam papers. The reality is that examiners are not out to fail students. The purpose of examination is to test the student’s understanding and knowledge of the subject or topic. And examiners usually leave a trace in the pattern of questions they set from year to year. A careful study of past questions over the past decade will, at least, guide an observant student as to what form the questions would take in order to prepare accordingly.

Another reason for failure is students not embracing a wider scope in reading than the learning they are fed. Reading only school notes for a final or entrance exam means the student is at the mercy of his or her subject teacher’s lessons notes, which may not be comprehensive enough. A good study combination of notes taken in class and usage of an instructive textbook for the subject with ample examples, illustrations and exercises will greatly enhance the student’s chances of success. Textbooks are, by the way, a big concern on their own, the fault of which is not the student’s. A large percentage of the local textbooks in circulation in our public and private schools are still not found to be clear, instructive and resourceful enough. They can score three or four out of five in the essence of the subject they are passing across. But they hardly score even two out of five in the structure and concept to showcase such essence.

There is also the problem of not prioritising one’s attention and efforts based on trends, and this requires not only seriousness, but some smartness. While it is always advisable to cover the syllabus, it may really not do much good for the students to give the same focus to every aspect or topic, spreading out too thin when he or she may concentrate more on certain subject aspects likely to form the sections of the exam. A student about to sit for the SSCE English exam for instance, for the purpose of excelling, may have to pay more attention to the Comprehension, Summary and Essay writing aspects because they form the sections of the English theory exam, which can fetch greater marks.

Then, there is the test of interpreting questions, which students often flunk due to a weak grasp of the topic or subject. Exam questions could be moderately tricky, and the student must follow through the thoughts of the examiner on each question to give correct answers. It is not enough for the student to understand the topic, they must also be able to apply that understanding to give an appropriate answer to the question asked. Logically, if a student reads a question wrongly, how can he or she answer it rightly?

The last is the aspect of articulating answers well and it more often than not boils down to this. From incongruent flow of expression to grave misspellings to illegible handwriting and worst of all bad English, and the examiner tends to develop a headache over a student’s script! To ensure the examiner is more favourable in doling out good marks, students need to learn how to lay answer points progressively, climaxing with the examiner’s predetermined outcome. In mathematics and calculation-based topics of other subjects for instance, the examiner doesn’t just want the student to get the answer to the question. He expects them to arrive at it through a step-by-step logical sequence that would leave no one in doubt of their understanding of the question, topic and subject.

Culled from the Punch Newspaper 2015.

Wike promises to complete useful projects started by Amaechi

on August 19, 2015 / in News 12:21 am / Comments

By Jimitota Onoyume
PORT HARCOURT— Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, has promised to complete projects of importance to the people that were started by previous administrations, including that of former Governor Chibuike Amaechi.

Wike gave the assurance in Port Harcourt, yesterday, when the Archbishop of the Niger Delta Province, Anglican communion, Archbishop Ignatius Kattey, paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said that his administration will take the state to a greater height, adding that he will fulfil his campaign promises to the people.
He said: “Our administration shall never lose focus. We have made promises and we shall keep to the promises. Any project that will impact positively on the lives of the people of the state will be completed by this administration.”
Earlier, the Archbishop of Anglican Province of the Niger Delta, Archbishop Ignatius, said that Rivers State will witness massive development under the leadership of Governor Wike.
He described Wike as a man who keep promises, noting that the development projects of the administration should be commended.
Advising politicians not to overheat the polity, Archbishop Kattey urged the governor not to be distracted by unwarranted attacks on his person by political opponents.