•Blame headmasters/principals and teachers – Education Minister
•No, blame students and parents – Principal
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The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, has attributed the cause of students’ mass failure in public examination to inefficient school management and teaching.
The minister, who was speaking at the 58th ministerial session of the National Council of Education (NCE), held in Abuja, last Thursday, expressed dismay over the situation while disclosing that the Federal Government’s plan to fight the dearth of professional teachers in the education sector.
Commenting on the result of the joint evaluation conducted between June and July 2011, on 102 schools spread across the federation by the Federal Inspectorate Services and State Inspectorate Services, using the Quality Assurance Instrument for Basic and Secondary Education in Nigeria, Rufa’i lamented that “the overall result of the evaluation shows that none of the schools is outstanding. While six schools were rated good, 28 schools, fair; 65 schools, poor; three schools were rated very poor. Of particular importance is the rating evaluation of leadership and management that indicates that none of the schools was rated outstanding. While 13 schools were rated good, 51 schools were rated fair and 37 schools poor. This shows that the quality of leadership and management in our schools leaves much to be desired because the range we have is that most of the managers of the schools are really not doing well.’’
Rufa’i, who noted that the essence of conducting the joint evaluation with state ministries of education inspectors was to “create a synergy between Federal and State Inspectorate Services for the improvement of education delivery and learners’ outcome,” insisted that there was no way you can divorce students’ poor performance in schools from the inefficiency of teachers and school managers as revealed by the result of the evaluation.
She added that the poor performances posted by students in public examinations conducted by WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and JAMB had been a source of concern to all stakeholders, hence the need for capacity-building for teachers, stressing that “if we have good teachers, we are already 50 per cent through in terms of quality delivery.”
The result, she says, implies that the selection and deployment of heads of schools should be given serious consideration by establishing effective guidelines or criteria to ensure that only capable personnel are appointed as head teachers/principals. The issue of mass failure, she noted, would be history if we could concentrate on teachers’ development “to enhance their capacity and to ensure that all our schools are manned by quality teachers.’’ To this end, she posits that “there is need to build the capacity of school managers in terms of technology to keep abreast with the global standard of education.”
She further enjoined all state ministries of education to build on the foundation laid by the current evaluation by interfacing with the Federal Inspectorate Services in conducting external evaluation of schools for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the school system.
Agreeing with the minister’s observation, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and host of the 58th NCE meeting, Sen. Bala Mohammed, said there was an urgent need to pay attention to teacher training and development. “Teacher education is the first step to take in our quest for the rebuilding of our educational system,” Mohammed, who was represented by the FCT’s Secretary for Education, Mr. Kabiru Usman, noted that “an educational system is as good as its teachers.”
But in a related development, the Principal, Wellspring College, Omole, Lagos, Mrs. Oluwayemisi Oloriade, blamed mass failure in public examinations on students and parents. Oloriade said this last week while showering praises on her teachers for their students’ outstanding performance in the May/June 2011 of West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). She lamented that majority of the students were neither serious in reading their books nor in preparing for examination because of several distractions such as phoning, Facebook/twitter exploration, Internet surfing, TV watching and social partying.
She also placed the blame on parents, who do not monitor their wards to ensure that they are taking their studies seriously. “Everyone is aware of the public outcry in our national dailies about students’ poor performance in both WAEC and NECO results nationwide. Students must be made to see the reason to study hard,” she said. “I check my SSS 111 students regularly and we don’t allow them too much time to watch television.”
Warning that her comments should not be misconstrued to mean that she hates the Internet, she stated: “Internet is a good instructional aid but in using it for educational purpose, students must be guided. Students must be serious with their studies when preparing for WAEC or NECO as they may be faced with a lot of distractions while teachers and the schools must also be up-and-doing. In our college, we monitor our teachers.”
The school, she said, had never looked back in sustaining a track record of academic excellence since it presented its first set of students for external examination in 2006 and added that “the college is a Christian school. We don’t bribe WAEC or NECO officials nor do we aid our students during public examinations.”
Her words: “Records showed that between 2006 and 2011, only 15 to 26 per cent of students that sat for the examination passed with five credits and above, including Maths and English Language. But the good news is that Wellspring College has maintained not less than 99 per cent success in the said examination. In the last WASSCE, the school recorded 100 per cent in 14 subjects, including English Language. Mathematics was 97 per cent and 82-97 per cent in four subjects. This is not unconnected with numerous academic enhancing activities that go on in the college.”
She revealed that the 33 students presented for the 2011 WASSCE secured admissions in tertiary institutions and stressed that the success story of the college was about dedicated teachers and planning ahead while expressing optimism that students for 2012 examination will make the college proud.
Oloriade, who has 27-year experience as a teacher said Mathematics, which is one of the nightmares of students, received great attention in the college, pointing out that the Math Department fortnightly administers questions on students set by another Math teacher other than students’ teachers.
Another critical aspect of the college administration, which has not only increased sense of responsibility in both students and teachers but has also rubbed off on students’ academic performance, she further observed, was note-checking. She added that “students’ subjects notes are checked twice a term and analysis of the report is sent to the management through the school supervisors.
The minister, who was speaking at the 58th ministerial session of the National Council of Education (NCE), held in Abuja, last Thursday, expressed dismay over the situation while disclosing that the Federal Government’s plan to fight the dearth of professional teachers in the education sector.
Commenting on the result of the joint evaluation conducted between June and July 2011, on 102 schools spread across the federation by the Federal Inspectorate Services and State Inspectorate Services, using the Quality Assurance Instrument for Basic and Secondary Education in Nigeria, Rufa’i lamented that “the overall result of the evaluation shows that none of the schools is outstanding. While six schools were rated good, 28 schools, fair; 65 schools, poor; three schools were rated very poor. Of particular importance is the rating evaluation of leadership and management that indicates that none of the schools was rated outstanding. While 13 schools were rated good, 51 schools were rated fair and 37 schools poor. This shows that the quality of leadership and management in our schools leaves much to be desired because the range we have is that most of the managers of the schools are really not doing well.’’
Rufa’i, who noted that the essence of conducting the joint evaluation with state ministries of education inspectors was to “create a synergy between Federal and State Inspectorate Services for the improvement of education delivery and learners’ outcome,” insisted that there was no way you can divorce students’ poor performance in schools from the inefficiency of teachers and school managers as revealed by the result of the evaluation.
She added that the poor performances posted by students in public examinations conducted by WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and JAMB had been a source of concern to all stakeholders, hence the need for capacity-building for teachers, stressing that “if we have good teachers, we are already 50 per cent through in terms of quality delivery.”
The result, she says, implies that the selection and deployment of heads of schools should be given serious consideration by establishing effective guidelines or criteria to ensure that only capable personnel are appointed as head teachers/principals. The issue of mass failure, she noted, would be history if we could concentrate on teachers’ development “to enhance their capacity and to ensure that all our schools are manned by quality teachers.’’ To this end, she posits that “there is need to build the capacity of school managers in terms of technology to keep abreast with the global standard of education.”
She further enjoined all state ministries of education to build on the foundation laid by the current evaluation by interfacing with the Federal Inspectorate Services in conducting external evaluation of schools for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the school system.
Agreeing with the minister’s observation, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and host of the 58th NCE meeting, Sen. Bala Mohammed, said there was an urgent need to pay attention to teacher training and development. “Teacher education is the first step to take in our quest for the rebuilding of our educational system,” Mohammed, who was represented by the FCT’s Secretary for Education, Mr. Kabiru Usman, noted that “an educational system is as good as its teachers.”
But in a related development, the Principal, Wellspring College, Omole, Lagos, Mrs. Oluwayemisi Oloriade, blamed mass failure in public examinations on students and parents. Oloriade said this last week while showering praises on her teachers for their students’ outstanding performance in the May/June 2011 of West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). She lamented that majority of the students were neither serious in reading their books nor in preparing for examination because of several distractions such as phoning, Facebook/twitter exploration, Internet surfing, TV watching and social partying.
She also placed the blame on parents, who do not monitor their wards to ensure that they are taking their studies seriously. “Everyone is aware of the public outcry in our national dailies about students’ poor performance in both WAEC and NECO results nationwide. Students must be made to see the reason to study hard,” she said. “I check my SSS 111 students regularly and we don’t allow them too much time to watch television.”
Warning that her comments should not be misconstrued to mean that she hates the Internet, she stated: “Internet is a good instructional aid but in using it for educational purpose, students must be guided. Students must be serious with their studies when preparing for WAEC or NECO as they may be faced with a lot of distractions while teachers and the schools must also be up-and-doing. In our college, we monitor our teachers.”
The school, she said, had never looked back in sustaining a track record of academic excellence since it presented its first set of students for external examination in 2006 and added that “the college is a Christian school. We don’t bribe WAEC or NECO officials nor do we aid our students during public examinations.”
Her words: “Records showed that between 2006 and 2011, only 15 to 26 per cent of students that sat for the examination passed with five credits and above, including Maths and English Language. But the good news is that Wellspring College has maintained not less than 99 per cent success in the said examination. In the last WASSCE, the school recorded 100 per cent in 14 subjects, including English Language. Mathematics was 97 per cent and 82-97 per cent in four subjects. This is not unconnected with numerous academic enhancing activities that go on in the college.”
She revealed that the 33 students presented for the 2011 WASSCE secured admissions in tertiary institutions and stressed that the success story of the college was about dedicated teachers and planning ahead while expressing optimism that students for 2012 examination will make the college proud.
Oloriade, who has 27-year experience as a teacher said Mathematics, which is one of the nightmares of students, received great attention in the college, pointing out that the Math Department fortnightly administers questions on students set by another Math teacher other than students’ teachers.
Another critical aspect of the college administration, which has not only increased sense of responsibility in both students and teachers but has also rubbed off on students’ academic performance, she further observed, was note-checking. She added that “students’ subjects notes are checked twice a term and analysis of the report is sent to the management through the school supervisors.
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