WAEC, NECO exams: Lagos govt raises concern over declining performance of students

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Lagos State, Mr. Tolani Alli-Balogun, has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the declining performance of students of the state-owned schools in the Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), challenging the school principals to be more alive and committed to their responsibilities.

The commissioner expressed the concern while having a strategic meeting recently with each of the permanent secretary\tutor-general across the six education districts of the state together with their respective school principals.

According to him, the students’ performance in the external exams, especially the last school-based WASSCE did not justify the huge resources the state government has invested in education in the state and on them in particular.

The Lagos State government as part of its free education policy at primary and secondary school levels pays the registration fees for all the SS3 students in the state-owned schools to sit for WAEC exam and the amounts usually run into billions of Naira every year.

However, individual students are responsible for registering for their NECO exam if they wish to take it.

Alli-Balogun emphasised that the expectation of the state government from the school leadership and their students across the state is to see them improving in performance in external exams and not declining as it has become lately. But he did not give the statistics of the students’ results in WAEC exam.

The commissioner, in a statement made available by the head of public affairs of the ministry, Mr. Kayode Sutton, nevertheless suggested some measures that could help in addressing the concern for positive results.
According to him, there should no longer be automatic promotion of students from SS2 to SS3 but only those who are academically capable to sit for SSCE should be promoted.

He suggested that this measure would motivate final-year students to study harder and be more dedicated, ensuring they are promoted to the terminal class and become eligible for the free SSCE exam.”

By this, he added, there will be healthy competition and improved performance by the generality of students in the public exams and that this would also rub off on the general standards of education in the state.

Additionally, the commissioner also urged the principals to revive various other activities that could further aid the students learning abilities and stimulate their physical and mental well-being.

He mentioned extra-curriculum activities such as sports, essay and debate competitions, arts and craft works, music, drama and so forth.

He said all these would equip students to become well-rounded.
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