ActionAid Nigeria and Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) have decried the poor performance in the recently concluded Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination.
The organisations in a statement by the Communications Adviser of ActionAID, Onyinyechi Okechukwu noted that the yearly release of overwhelmingly poor examination results by examining bodies like the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and the National Examinations Council (NECO) and Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) have become an unwelcome ritual.
According to Andrew Mamedu, ActionAid Nigeria’s Education Programme Manager, “the recently released 2012 JAMB examination results showed only 10 percent out of the 110,724 scoring above the cut-off mark of 170 in the core subjects including English language, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Geography. The 2012 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) had 72, 243 candidates scoring 250 and above while 336,330 scored below 170”.
Mamedu said, “these poor results stem from years of neglect of the education sector and inadequate attention to education policy frameworks, which leads to poor educational standards and learning achievements”. Another reason he noted, is the over-emphasis on theoretical knowledge at the expense of technical, vocational, and entrepreneurial education which has triggered overwhelming demand for university education.
Wole Samuel, Policy Advisor, Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) said the achievement of Universal Basic Education (UBE) is fundamentally dependent upon the quality of education through quality teacher recruitment and training, targeted school funding, improved numeracy and literacy.
He further noted that increase in funding for content and quality, which should include provision of funds for teachers training and adequate infrastructure is fundamental to improving the quality of education in the country.
The two organisations called on the federal government to make provision for citizens to legally demand quality education and set measurable benchmarks in the education sector that will link education managers from the top to bottom to a performance driven framework.
They also called for evidence-based decision making, performance monitoring and increased space for stakeholders’ participation in target setting, implementation and performance measurement in the education sector.
ActionAid Nigeria is a non-governmental organisation working with the poor and excluded; promoting values and commitment in civil society, institutions and governments with the aim of achieving structural changes in order to eradicate injustices and poverty in the world. ActionAid is registered with the Nigeria Corporate Affairs Commission as a national organisation, and an affiliate of ActionAid International with its international headquarters in Johannesburg South Africa.
CSACEFA-The Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) is a coalition of over 500 NGOs working to achieve the goals of Education for All in Nigeria. The coalition engages in consultation and advocacy processes with a broad range of stake holders including governments and donors on how to redefine, input and shape the education policy in Nigeria.
Culled from The Nation
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