‘Why some students fail WAEC, NECO woefully’

The Zonal Director of National Examination Council (NECO), Federal Capital Territory Zonal Office, Abuja, Mustapha Abdul has said the reason some students failed the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and NECO was linked to parents interference in the education of their wards.

Abdul said majority of parents in Nigeria force schools to terminate primary education of their children in primary five and that forms a crack in the foundation of what the child is supposed to assimilate.

The zonal director who was speaking at the 15th graduation ceremony of Tophill Schools, Abuja disclosed that in 2010, about 1.2million students that sat for WAEC and NECO only less than 10 per cent made five credits including mathematics.

“It became very worrisome to the parents and government that was when we started conducting research to find out why somebody should spend six years in secondary school and primary school and came out to write examination that will redefine his life and then fail woefully.”

“We got part of the reason and critical to the answer, we discovered that majority of parent in Nigeria terminate primary education in primary five instead of the standard primary six,” he said.

The Proprietress of the school, Mrs. Kate Nomhwange confirmed that there has been pressure from some parents insisting that pupils are graduated from primary five and some demanding primary four but that the school refused the implement the suggestion.