A recent report has it that Singapore has abolished school examination rankings.  By this, a child’s report card will no longer be showing the position he took in class. The report card will from next year  not indicate  class and level mean; minimum and maximum marks; pass/fail for end-of-year result; mean subject grades; overall total marks; L1R5 (English plus five relevant subjects), L1R4 , EMB3 (English, maths, best three subjects) and EMB1 for lower secondary levels.
According to their Ministry of Education, the essence of banning exam ranking is to teach the children that learning is not a competition but a self disciple they need to master for life.
The report book should however, still contain some form of yardstick and information to allow students to judge their relative performance, and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.
Juxtapose this with what obtains in Nigeria and you will wonder what we are doing. Ours is a country where everybody wants to take the first position, where it seems education is a serious competition about who comes top in exam without necessarily knowing the subjects taught. It is not strange to hear stories of teachers, especially those in private schools, supplying answers to students during examinations so as to ensure they all pass with good grades.
By this, their parents will be happy that their children are doing well and that the school is the best. What about schools that give first and other top positions to as many as five persons? Or the ones that make sure that children of the rich are given good position even when they do not merit it just to retain their parents’ patronage?
It’s true countries have peculiarities in monitoring standards and performance in their school system and so Nigeria may not be obliged to copy what obtains in Singapore or any other country but what system are we really operating in Nigeria and is it yielding the best result?
Is it a system that teaches and encourages the use of foreign languages but prohibits the use of local languages?; a system that promotes the learning of foreign cultures while the beautiful diverse cultures of the country are relegated to the background? Today, in some private schools, children pay up to N30, 000.00 per term to learn ballerina dance.  What efforts are made to teach the Nigerian dances?
Before and after independence, the nation had the 6-5-2-3 system of education, which means six years in primary school, five years in secondary school, two years in higher school, and three years in the university. In the mid 1980s it was abolished on the excuse that it was meant to serve the interest of the colonial masters and that it did not encourage science and technology, self development and entrepreneurship.
Subsequently, the 6-3-3-4 system was introduce in the mid 80s by the then Minister of Education, Professor Babatunde Fafunwa.  We were told that the scheme would bring functionality in the system by producing graduates that make use of their head, heart and hands.  We all know how badly this system has been implemented. Years after the introduction, there were reports of abandoned crates and containers of workshop tools and implements at the seaports. These were tools and equipment meant for children who may not be suited or equipped to go beyond JS 3.  Most of these tools and equipment were allegedly stolen by the suppliers and contractors with the connivance of those in authority eventually. So the junior secondary school students are being taught subjects like introductory technology, home economics and the likes without seeing or touching any tool for three years.
The resultant effect of the failure of this system is that many schools now adopt whatever system that appeals to them. In some primary schools, the last class is primary five, while some end in primary six.  Some use the British and Nigerian curricula, while others go for Nigeria/ Canadian curriculum. The fact is that there is no uniformity of the education system. Schools spring up every day without proper supervision to ensure adequate quality of their content and effective delivery. The issue of the poor quality of teachers, lack of regular teachers’ training and corruption in the system and poor funding of the education sector is another ball game.
So the Nigerian education system needs urgent and comprehensive overhaul both from the policy direction and in the area of standard.
The introduction of the 6-3-3-4  system over 20 years ago was the last major tweak in our education system and one thinks there is need to take a critical look at and have a system  change since the current one has failed. It is also my opinion that just as Singapore has done, we should deemphasize examination but rather concentrate on imparting knowledge on the children in the most fun and interesting way. This will definitely yield better result than constantly subjecting them to series of tests and exams.

Calista Ezeaku