The right lung takes in more air than left lung
Yo u t h C e n t r i c
A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 2 S P U R M A G . C O M 11
Interview
A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 2 S P U R M A G . C O M 5 7
Archbishop Margret Idahosa
ifts G c i st ! a n t n u F Fae ing Win
Whil e
Hav
Mr Nurudeen Fagbenro - Wema Bank Executive Director
Nigeria SPUR Magazine Competition THE WINNING ESSAY Stemming the Tide of Massive Examination Failure in Nigeria By Babs Iwalewa
T
he general decay that has permeated all sectors of the Nigerian society knows no bounds. One of the sectors that has been most hit is the educational sector. It is trite to say that the educational sector in Nigeria has become a shadow of its former self. This is duly manifested in the perennial massive examination failure that has since become the hallmark of the Nigerian educational sector in recent years. The salient question then, for any discerning observer, is, how did we as a people and a country arrive at this sorry state? It is only by formulating these important question that can we begin to gain insight into the nature of the problem and also develop strategies to stem the tide of massive examination failure in Nigeria. The history of education in Nigeria is synonymous with that of high standards and quality, right from the introduction of Western education into Nigeria by the missionaries and colonial masters, even up till the early days of independence to the mid 80’s. However, this story began to change in the mid 90’s with the adoption of neo liberal economic policies of the Bretton Woods financial institutions. The dawn of this era in question signaled the beginning of the “anything is possible” phenomenon as the educational sector began to witness a free fall which continued till date. The economic down-turn led to the destruction of family values where important virtues such as hard work , honesty, dedication and perseverance were taught. The Nigerian society began to see a new set of “achievers” who through despicable means had made it to the top of the societal ladder. Such people had achieved success through despicable ways such as falsification of academic records, examination malpractices, and outright purchase of educational certificates without necessarily going to school. These state of affairs brought about a lot of confusion particularly to the youths who were surprised that rather than the society reprimanding and ostracizing such characters it welcomed them with several of them being given the highest honours in the land. The overall consequence of these was such that a disincentive to study was created as most youth began to question the usefulness and importance of diligent study to achieve success. From these modest conceptual frameworks, which has brought some of the 9 0 S P U R M A G . C O M A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 2
probable causes of examination failure in Nigeria to the fore, stakeholders can begin to stem this tide by: · Embarking on a major and comprehensive national reorientation of our cultural values, where the virtues of honesty, hard work, dedication are not only appreciated and promoted but seen to be rewarded. The framework for this should be established in the abhorrence of the “quick money or get rich quick,” “little work and more money” and “indolence” syndrome. The innate drive towards overt consumerism where every youth wants to enjoy the fruits of education but loathe the seed of learning should be grossly discouraged. This drive towards overt consumerism is exemplified in most of our educational institutions whereby students have a disdain for intellectual pursuits but will rather spend their last stipends to get the latest fashion and fad items in town. · A deliberate policy and programme whereby only the best graduating students and those who have shown a demonstrable commitment to the teaching profession shall be retained in our educational institutions right from tertiary level down to the elementary level of education. The importance of doing this is aptly seen in the fact that teaching and learning have a lot to do with psychology and a situation where we allow interlopers who have really no stake in education take charge can only further the decay in education as seen in the rate of examination failures over the years. A well qualified and duly motivated teacher/instructor or lecturer sees the failure of his students as a personal failure hence his willingness to go the extra mile to ensure the success of his students at all times. The need to also professionalize the teaching profession is very important and incidental to this point, for the tide of examination failures to be stemmed in Nigeria,
there is an urgent need to give the teaching profession a pride of place to be at par with professions such as medicine, law, etc. When teachers see themselves as professionals who enjoy societal respect they will be encouraged to put more effort. · It is also imperative for researchers in the field of education to begin to pioneer research on how we can have a seamless incorporation of the major curriculum taught in schools on some of the major social network platforms such as facebook, 2go, twitter and so on since it has become established that most Nigerian students now spend a greater part of their time on this social platforms. · Educational researchers should also begin to come up with new pedagogical skills to facilitate easy transmission and assimilation of knowledge by students. We must agree that the student of today is faced with a lot of distractions particularly with the current digital age compared to time past. This is not only a Nigerian problem but a general one; hence researchers must find new ways and methods to teach aspects of the curriculum with the aim of not only dispensing knowledge but also making knowledge enjoyable to students. When students enjoy what they are taught the task of recall and regurgitating in the examination hall becomes an easy one hence the rate of examination failures can be curbed. In addition to this, the need to also teach aspects of the educational curriculum in local languages particularly at the early stages of education should also be looked at as this can also improve performance in examinations particularly at the later stages of education since it implies that students would have had a solid foundation at the early stages of acquiring education. In conclusion, these strategies although not exhaustive may in the long run be able to reduce or stem the tide of examination failure in the country by an appreciable percentage.
Mr. Iwalewa, a post-graduate geography student at Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, is the winner of Nokia X1-01
Win free
Nokia Phones Recharge Cards To win, simply join
MySpur Essay Competition www.spurmag.com/essay