Education
SSCE: Proposed Policy On Private Candidates Attracts Opposition
Mixed reactions have trailed the recent comment made by the immediate past Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Dr Tamunosisi Gogo -Jaja to the effect that the State Government would ban private candidates from registering for the Senior Secondary Schools Certificate Examinations (SSCE) in the state.
Jaja, who said the move was geared toward checking the high rate of examination malpractices in the state had attributed the development to the inclusion of private candidates alongside the regular students.
He was of the opinion that the private candidates collaborated with principals and owners of schools in the state to indulge in the examination malpractices.
However, some respondents who spoke to The Tide in Port Harcourt expressed divergent views on the matter.
The respondents were of the opinion that poor remuneration of teachers, lack of conducive learning environment and absence of relevant teaching aids in schools were the primary causes of examination malpractices.
According to Mr Boniface Chigozie, an electrician, the former commissioner’s assumptions that examination malpractices noticed during the recent concluded SSCE in the state could not have been caused by private candidates.
Mr Chigozie opined that rather than apportioning blames to the private candidates, the various school principals and teachers where the malpractices occurred should be held accountable because they were supposed to be vanguards against such acts.
Also speaking, Mr Ken Samuel Onyiyechi,a business man, also said the move if adopted by the State Government, will deprive many adults access to further their educational pursuits.
According to him, those of them who did not have the opportunity to attend day schools but had the chance to enroll in evening lessons should not be stopped from registering and sitting for the SSCE along side regular students, adding that doing so will amount to depriving these category of persons right to acquire and further education.
On her part, Mrs. Love Todi Ibeh urged the State Government to critically address the nagging challenges facing the development of primary and secondary schools in the State with regard to shortage of teachers as well as provision of relevant laboratories that would enhance learning and teaching in secondary schools across the State.
The River State Commissioner for Education, Dr Peters Nwagor has called on media practitioners in Rivers State to deploy their various communication platforms toward promoting government programmes and policies aimed at achieving sustainable development in the education sector. Dr. Nwagor made the appeal when members of the Etche Ethnic Practicing Journalists (EEPJ) paid him a courtesy visit in Office in Port Harcourt. The Commissioner emphasized the strategic role of the media in shaping public perception, promoting government initiatives, and supporting policies capable of improving the quality of education and human capital development in the state. According to him, constructive media engagement remains essential in creating public awareness on educational reforms, students’ welfare, infrastructural improvements, and other interventions being implemented by the state government. Speaking on the recent appro
-
Editorial1 day agoEnough Of Xenophobic Attacks On Nigerians
-
Nation1 day agoRSU, Otonti Nduka Foundation Holds Centenary Conference, Unveil Book on Values in Nigeria
-
Oil & Energy1 day agoRivers PETROAN Elects 12-Member Executive
-
Environment1 day agoMOSOP – Tinubu Not Sincere With Ogoni People For Oil Resumption
-
Politics1 day ago
APC Group Protests Ex–Presidential Aspirant’s Disqualification From Rivers Senatorial Race
-
News1 day agoFubara, Wife Hail Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative …As Over 6,800 Families Benefit From Largesse In Rivers
-
Politics1 day ago
Reps Speaker Secures APC Return Ticket For Fifth Term
-
Maritime1 day agoProducts, Others, To Arrive Lagos Ports Today — MPA