Strong reactions against the mass failure of candidates in this year?s Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations, SSCE, continued yesterday, with parents and some groups calling for the cancellation of some of the papers, especially English Language.

This is even as the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, in criticising the conduct of the examination during nighttime hours, described it as unacceptable and detrimental to performance.

Recall that only 38.32% passed English language and Mathematics at the credit level. Both papers are key to securing university admission in the country.

Commentators on the development, especially parents, blamed the mass failure on lapses on the part of the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, regarding the time the English Language exam was written by the candidates.

Those on the platform of Concerned Parents and Educators Network, CPE, called for the cancellation of the English Language paper and an inquest into why some candidates wrote the paper at night.

In a post on the CPE platform by Adegoke Bimpe Atoke, she wrote: ?Almighty WAEC has done it again. The pregnancy of a few months ago has finally given birth. Mass failure in Mathematics and English. 450-word essays written with phone torchlight at 10:30 pm under the rain, with candidates swatting mosquitoes. How did we arrive here?

?Our systems need drastic, strategic, urgent reforms. I can?t even eat. I have lost my appetite. Which way is the way forward? If WAEC is not working and has lost relevance, can we have something else? A better mechanism that will address our context as a country.

In another reaction, Abiodun Adesanya Adeleke said: ?The necessary body should help to do the needful. The English Language is supposed to be retaken with all the nonsense that happened on that day. Students writing exams till past 9:00 pm with torchlight and in mosquito-infested classes. How do we call that a standardized exam??

Adebayo Ifeoluwa, in his part, noted: ?Who is to blame? I am a teacher in one of Lagos State schools; exams started at the right time and ended at the right time. When things like this happen, who should we blame? No exam is scheduled to be done at night, so who?s at fault? Thinking out loud.?

Another commentator, Rex Oscar, said: ?Some people will still say it?s because the students didn?t read. We know students didn?t read but you cannot tell me over 70% of our SS3 students didn?t read. Even those who did very well in JAMB failed the English Language paper. The government needs to set up an inquest to probe this.?

Adetoun Aremu suggested that English Language and Mathematics be rewritten, while Ifeoma Eucharia noted that despite what the candidates went through, they still failed English Language.

Conducting WASSCE at night can?t produce good results ? School proprietors

Reacting in a similar vein, the President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, Yomi Otubela, described the conduct of the examination as unacceptable and detrimental to performance.

Otubela, who made a guest appearance on Channels Television?s Sunrise Daily yesterday, cited reports of students writing exams under candlelight and torchlight in some states, warning that such conditions undermined academic outcomes.

?We cannot overrule the fact that the condition in which the examination was written in some states is not acceptable to us. The fact that children were writing exams late into the night with candles and torchlights cannot be a standard that will allow us to have commendable results,? he said.

The NAPPS president commended students who managed to perform, despite the harsh conditions, attributing the significant dip in pass rate to systemic issues within the country?s education sector.

He said: ?I must commend children who, in spite of all the economic hardship and other challenges in preparing for the exam, came out with commendable results.

?Overall, I think there is a challenge in our educational system at the moment. Both private and government stakeholders need a more robust working relationship to identify where the challenges lie and proffer lasting solutions.?

Citing the sharp decline in results, Otubela attributed it to persistent challenges in the education sector, highlighting inadequate investment in teacher development and underfunding as major contributing factors.

?The Head of National Office reported that the pass rate stood at about 38 per cent, the worst in about 15 years, from 2015 to date. The reason for this cannot be far-fetched from the many challenges facing education in our country.

?We have not paid sufficient attention to the capacity building of our teachers. In a few months, we?ll be celebrating World Teachers? Day, yet there is little evidence of investment in teacher training to enhance mentoring of students,? he said.

The NAPPS? president also highlighted infrastructural deficits and poor digital access, especially in rural communities, saying the budgetary allocation to education falls short of the recommended UNESCO benchmark.

?Many children in rural areas have little or no access to computers, and they study in non-conducive environments. This points to a wide gap between classroom experience and actual learning outcomes.?

WAEC prevented cheating

However, it was gathered that WAEC took some steps that prevented cheating, especially in objective questions papers.

A source confided in our correspondent that some of the steps included serialization of the questions.

The method involved giving the candidates same questions but the questions would not fall into the same number.

?Question number one for a candidate may be the question number 20 for another candidate and so on. So, the era of reading out or copying the same answers was gone. Most of the candidates did not do well in the objective papers,? the source said.

Similarly, the National President of National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, Haruna Danjuma, said: ?One may say the level of examination malpractice has gone down. But that is just one of the factors. Do we have the teachers that can deliver what is needed in the required number? Many states have refused to engage new teachers to fill vacancies.

?Also, some parents cannot afford to buy the necessary textbooks for their wards and children. The prices have gone out of reach. We need to also equip our schools properly. Teachers? welfare is also critical.

?When a teacher is thinking of what to eat and how to meet basic needs, how can he give the best to the students? Parents also have to take more interest in the education of their children.??

Recall that when the results were released on Monday, WAEC said of the 1,969,313 candidates who sat for the examination, only 754,545 candidates, representing 38.32%, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

In the 2024 WASSCE, 72.12% of candidates obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics. This year?s results showed a significant decline in performance, with only 38.32% of candidates achieving the same feat. (Vanguard)

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