It is cheering that 923,486 candidates out of the 1,559,162 who sat for the 2017 May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics. This 59.22 per cent success rate is an improvement on the results of the examination in recent years.
While announcing the results of the examination in Lagos on Monday, the council’s Head of National Office, Mr. Olu Olanipekun, explained that the percentage of candidates in this category is an improvement on those of 2015 and 2016 diets, which amounted to 38.68 percent and 52.97 percent respectively.
Details of the results show that 1,084,214 candidates, or 69.94 percent, obtained credits and above in six subjects, while 1,243,772 candidates, or 87.05 percent, got credits and above in four subjects. About 1,436,024 candidates, that is, 92.44 percent, obtained credits and above in three subjects, while 1,490,356 or 95.59 percent, obtained credits and above in two subjects. Out of the 1,559,162 candidates that sat for the examination, the results of 1,471,151 were fully processed and released, while the results of 95,734 candidates, or 5.64 percent, had some of their subjects still being processed as a result of errors made in the course of registration.
However, Olanipekun stressed that the results of 214,952 candidates were being withheld because of reported cases of examination malpractices. Such infractions, he said, are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate committee of the council later for due consideration.
We commend the candidates, their teachers and the school authorities for this worthy achievement. It is a good development in the history of WASSCE examinations in the country, and should be encouraged by rewarding the best schools, teachers and candidates. Prizes should be given to the best performing students and their teachers in each subject on a yearly basis in all secondary schools in the country.
We enjoin the students and their teachers to keep up the performance in future examinations. In all, they should keep to the formula that made this performance possible and strive to improve on it. The school authorities should not relent in hiring reputable Mathematics and English Language to sustain and improve on this outing. It is gladdening that this year’s results are far better than those of 2015 and 2016.
We urge our teachers to sit up and not be complacent because of this result. They should not rest on their oars but continuously strive to improve their teaching skills. Let the teachers and students aim at a higher success rate in future editions of WASSCE. The authorities of every Nigerian secondary school should try hard to recruit the best teachers in every subject to improve the grades of their students. There is the need to maintain a consistent record of achievement in this regard. We want consistent progress that will reflect in the overall quality of our secondary school graduates.
The federal and state governments should properly fund the primary and secondary levels of the education system. We say this because if these two levels are strong enough, they will definitely rub-off on the tertiary level. It is important to make hay while the sun shines.
All our secondary schools should be well equipped with the necessary laboratory equipment, qualified teachers and library materials. Annual budgetary allocations to this level of education should also be increased to enhance the needed development of the education sector.