City Crime

Still On Poor JAMB, O’Level Results

Published

12 years ago

April 5, 2012

It often seems amusing when I hear people complain about the abysmal performance of candidates in Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), West African School Certificate (WASC), National Examination Council (NECO) and other similar examinations across the country.

This is because anybody who has been following the trend in our education sector, should know and appreciate that there is an appalling fall in the standard of our education.

The result of entrance examination into the tertiary institutions across the country for 2012 released by JAMB a few days ago indicated that out of over 1.5 million candidates who sat for the examination, only three scored 300 and above, 72, 243 scored 250 and above, while 601, 151 got marks ranging from 200 to 249. In all only 673,397 scored above 200 which could enable them gain admission into universities.

In a similar way, the last year’s Novovember/December O’level results showed abysmal performance rate of about 70 percent failure.

Honestly, contrary to some people’s expression of disappointment over these results, I am not surprised at all.

As a matter of fact, I think these results are very impressive compared to the standard of education in the country and if something is not done urgently, we may be in for worse situations.

Records show that a particular school in Ghana has half of its population made up of Nigerian students. Many Nigerians today send their children and wards to different African countries, Europe, America and even Asia, in search of quality education, thereby enriching those countries.

But don’t be quick to condemn them. A tour of some public schools in the country would reveal complete the infrastructural decay. What of the quality of teaching and instructional materials? Gone were the days when people took to teaching due to their love for the profession. Today, many people go into teaching due to unemployment or lack of better things to do. This is almost peculiar with private schools who employ people with any qualification and pay them meagerly. Stories have it that some school certificate holders, or even school drop-outs who were engaged by some private nursery schools are also used as nursery schools teachers.

In this case, you begin to wonder what those children were being taught. The fact that Half of the students who sat for a university entrance examination failed raises questions on the quality of teachers that prepared them for the examination.

Teachers may want to accuse the students of laziness and for not taking their academic work seriously. They will blame students for spending most of their time on social networking, playing computer games and watching films. But the teachers can do better if they put more efforts and show more commitment, interest and zeal to their duties.

But then, it is impossible for one to give what he does not have. The quality of the teachers nowadays is becoming disturbing. A recent newspaper report has it that some school proprietors raised alarm over the poor quality of students coming out of higher institutions.

Indeed, the falling standard of education can be traced to so many factors. Education in Nigeria is poorly funded.

This has led to poor infrastructure, inadequate hostel accommodation for undergraduates, poor laboratory facilities and outdated teaching aids in the tertiary institutions. The direct results are the incessant strike actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), poor academic and research work which translate to chunning out of half-baked graduates.

In the past, pupils who did not perform well in examinations were asked to repeat some classes. Today, the situation is different.

Mass promotion is the new trend. Every proprietor wants to prove that his pupils are the most brilliant; and to prove it, theyembarked on mass promotion even when some of them barely know their left from their rights

What of the parents? What are they doing towards ensuring that their children get quality education? Parents, particularly the fathers believe that having paid their children’s school fees, they have discharged their duties. Some parents don’t even care whether their children do their home work or not, or even take time to go through their school work. All their interest is in making money, believing that with money, their children can buy quality education.

That probably explain why some parents, especially mothers go the extent of buying question papers or machineries to write exams for their children. I wonder what the future of such children will be like.

Obviously, the problem of education sector in Nigeria is multi-faceted and it needs a multi-faceted effort to tackle it if we must achieve vision 20; 20; 20 we’re talking about. From the family up to the government, we all have a role to play. Unless we stop paying lip service to education, we will continue to have more failures.

It will amount to wishful thinking if parents think their children and wards will perform better in future examinations if they do not start now to pay attention to their academic works and guide them right.

Calista Ezeaku

City Crime

Delta Attorney-General Laments Hike In Human Trafficking

Published

2 months ago

March 6, 2024

The Tide

Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole (SAN) has lamented the increasing rate of human trafficking, especially the girl child in the state.
Ohwovoriole decried the increase in his office in Asaba when the zonal commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mr Nduka Nwawenne paid him a courtesy visit.
The Attorney-General stated that it was against the dignity of the state and disheartening to see that Delta State now ranked first in human trafficking, overtaking Edo State.
He stressed the need for stakeholders to tackle the menace, adding that if it was one single victim that was rescued, they would be rewarded for their efforts.
Ohwovoriole stated that young girls were the most vulnerable ones in the issue of human trafficking, stressing that children from poor family backgrounds also fall victim to human trafficking.
While saying that their request for an office space in the state would be looked into, to see how the government could be of assistance to them, he assured them of his ministry’s partnership in the fight against human trafficking.
He said that the Task Force on human trafficking and irregular migration, which he chairs, should be having regular meetings.
Earlier, the Zonal Commander of Naptip, Mr. Nwawenne informed the commissioner that Delta state had overtaken Edo state as the foremost state in human trafficking in nigeria.
He told the Attorney-General that their Zonal Command was the first to be established in Nigeria because of the prevailing issues of human trafficking in the area, noting that ika south was the highest in cases of human trafficking as a result of its proximity with edo state.
Nwawenne appealed to the Commissioner and the State Government to provide office accommodation for their officials to operate in Asaba.

City Crime

Army Arrests 50 Foreigners, Others For Job Racketeering

Published

5 months ago

December 1, 2023

The Tide

The Nigerian Army said it has arrested 50 suspects, including foreigners, for alleged international job racketeering in Lagos.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, who addressed journalists in Abuja, on Wednesday, said the suspects were arrested during an operation jointly conducted by the Army and the Nigeria Immigration Service.
He also disclosed that no fewer than 13 criminals were killed and 88 arrested during various operations across 20 states of the federation.
Among those arrested include 50 suspects comprising foreigners who were nabbed for alleged International job racketeering.
Onyema said, “In the South-West region, on November 2, 2023, troops of 9 Brigade Nigerian Army in conjunction with personnel of Nigerian Immigration Service, Lagos State Command, conducted a raid operation on a suspected criminal hideout at Ifako Ijaye.
“During the operation, 50 suspects, including foreigners who specialise in international job racketeering, were arrested. In a similar development same day, the same troops arrested two suspects at a hotel in Ogba in the Ikeja LGA.
“The arrest was in connection with the murder of one Mallam Idris Ardo, the Ardo of Panya Village in Plateau State. Preliminary investigation revealed that one of the arrested suspects masterminded the killing of Ardo and fled the community since the incident occurred.”

City Crime

Elder Statesman Charges FG On Judges, Magistrates’ Security

Published

5 months ago

November 15, 2023

The Tide

An elders statesman and advocate of oil rights in the Niger Delta, Rev Sokari Soberekon, has called on the Federal Government to beef up security for High Court Judges and Magistrates in the country. The iconoclastic doctor of humanities made this plea while addressing newsmen during the just concluded 2023/2024 rededication of the legal year of the Rivers State Judiciary held at the St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church in Port Harcourt last Thursday.
Soberekon stressed the essence of maximised security for Judges and Magistrates in Nigeria to ensure prompt and fearless dispensation of justice, equity and fairplay. He, maintained that apart from armed Police orderlies, the Judges and Magistrates should be legally authorised to keep personal arms for self defence when necessary, adding that this innovative policy would enhance the desired environment for an independent judiciary.
According to the octogenarian minority rights activist, the judiciary is the sanctuary of justice and equity.
He recalled the circumstances surrounding the gruesome murder of the former Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Late. Chief Bola Ige.
Soberekon noted that, in spite of the retinue of official security aides attached to the late former Governor of Oyo State, Ige would not have been murdered if he was personally armed on that fateful day of his demise.
Soberekon emphasised the need to shun eye service in the nation’s polity.
He, however, maintained that the only Oga in politics is God Almighty, who he said uses people to install others in office.
Soberekon recalled the meeting he had with King Alfred Diete-Spiff in Lagos from where the pioneer Governor of the State started planning the blueprint of the old Rivers State.
He said what Rivers State needs now is peace, and applauded the placard with the description, ‘Peace’, displayed during the rededication ceremony.
He noted with delight that while delivering a sermon at the occasion, the Vicar of the church advised Nigerians to give peace a chance and also to build a nation where peace and justice reign.