₦airaland Forum

I don't know who you are and why you decided to post a table without comment or analysis. Are you new on Nairaland by the way

Let's keep it civil, huh?

@Kobojunkie

Thanks for your comments.

@tensor777

You have come again with your usual lets play the blame game. How could the exams be recycled when the syllabus itself is unrecognizable from a few decades ago

I did say questions are recycled but had also been careful to ask, much earlier on, if there was a way to review more recent past exam papers.
Sometimes the difference between a pass and fail in an examination is no more than 2 questions.
In my line of work, I have found this can also be a measure of the rather archaic language used when the same question was written much earlier on (in the 60s), say.

Kobojunkie, I brought WAEC's registrar back into the equation because I am reluctant to ascribe the systematic failure evident in Nigeria's educational system to the rest of West Africa region without the benefit of relevant data.

@tensor777

Quote from: Ibime on Today at 06:00:24 AM
@ Chiogo,
Nigerian Math is way more advanced than Yankee or Britico match.
Of course after doing Matrices and Advanced Calculus (which we did in SS1 Further Maths), why wouldn't you appreciate your American teacher more for giving you simple algebra?

Its nothing to do with Naija, its just that you are slow with figures and prefer 1+1. Hehehe.
Naija Maths is the best (after China). I can say that anywhere cos I still met my SS1 Further Maths in 2nd Year University.

You do have a point there I must concede. So in that regard there is absolutely nothing wrong with the maths curriculum as it is and those who scored high marks therein should be able to handle the subject at beginning undergraduate level anywhere in the world.
However not everyone is gifted at manupulating figures but that is a personal problem.

This assertion is simply not true.
There is no empirical data that backs up the supposition you offered up there and you know it.

Nigeria in the same league as China? Pull another one.

International educational scores (latest, 2007) -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trends_in_International_Mathematics_and_Science_Study
(8th graders average score, TIMSS
International Math and Science Study, 2007)
Countries:
(sample) Global
rank Maths Science
Rank Score Rank Score
Singapore 1 3 593 1 567
Taiwan 2 1 598 2 561
South Korea 3 2 597 4 553
Japan 4 5 570 3 554
Hong Kong 5 4 572 9 530
Hungary 6 6 517 6 539
England 7 7 513 5 542
Czech Republic 8 11 504 7 539
Russia 9 8 512 10 530
Slovenia 10 12 501 8 538
United States 11 9 508 11 520
Lithuania 12 10 506 12 519
Australia 13 14 496 13 515
Sweden 14 15 491 14 511
Armenia 15 13 499 17 488
Italy 18 19 480 16 495

@sirabbey,
That the government is (or may well be) broke is not enough of a reason to continue ploughing a barren field.
Putting hundreds of thousands of teenagers through an exam with failure rate of 80%, year after year, is human-rights issue which warrants closer inspection from all sectors of society. Simple.

I have decided to focus squarely on the suitability of these exams, in isolation from other attendant factors already mentioned on this thread, primarily because our abysmal failure rate sits well within the West Africa sub-region, if the Council Registrar at WAEC headquarters in Ghana, Mrs. Mulikat Bello, is to be believed.
While I don't know enough about the schools in Ghana and will differ to superior knowledge in this area, are we to assume the teaching standards are just poor yonder?
Do you see what I am driving at?

The exams are not getting harder, rather the resources available to enable success continue to increase in a geometrical ratio. The large percentage that fail, failed at home first due to the fault of their parents and their misplaced priorities.  Our society has shifted focus from the academia to "street arts" You only need to take a look at the myriad of talent hunt shows that litter our media landscape to have a feel of what we are talking about. Corporate bodies are more inclined to encourage street arts especially soccer and music rather than meaningful academic development of the youths.

While one may be able to sustain an argument that  suggest the exams are not getting any harder, the bigger question is: are they relevant for our times?
As someone who has done some research in this area and who also has some experience working for an examination board in the UK, I know that a lot of past questions simply get recycled, never mind how dated and unsuitable they may be for the current clime.

I have seen questions set in GCE examination papers from the late 60s appear in WAEC exam papers set in the 80s word for word, but for changes made to units of measures, for instance.
Now, my point here is, if you had kids in London's inner-city schools fielding those same questions (from the 60s) today, you may be lucky to get a 20% pass rate.

Tell a hungry man to read a book. Let's watch and see where the 20% would end up {unemployment most probably}. Don't blame them, they've learnt school isn't the way forward.

Are you saying this alone explains the failing standards across the entire West Africa region (read my earlier post)? Hunger?

fstranger1

It turns out that this not a new problem:

On English language, Aboderin  in 1986 writes: "An analysis of available results from 1964 to 1972 reveals that the percentage of candidates who gained distinction or credit fluctuates between 19% and 24%( Sounds familiar?)while more than 30% of the candidates failed in the English langauge examination each year. The distinction credit pass fell to about 16% in 1979 while more than 50% failed. Available reports for 1983 to 1985 also show that performances range from 5.14% to 14.49% at distinction/credit level while failure range from 59.08% to 82.49%.

Why cant we just try a new approach?

Not for all the tea in China we won't, not even for all the foreign conferences on "raising educational standards" we are paid to attend year after year.

Council Registrar at WAEC headquarters in Ghana, Mrs. Mulikat Bello, also lamented the shameful outcome of results in 2010 and previous years. According to her, there were little or no differences in Nigeria's outing in WAEC compared with other West African countries that are participating in the same examination. Though she was worried at the spate of failure, she said Nigeria could do better, having been endowed with more resources than any other West African country. "What is the problem with us in Nigeria? What is the problem? We should be the one leading. We should be in the vanguard. It is not because I am a Nigerian, but because Nigeria is more blessed than any other country in West Africa. Is it in terms of geographical size? Is it in terms of population? Is it in terms of quality of resources available to us? I can't see the reason why our children will not excel," she said. -- http://allafrica.com/stories/201101100478.html?page=2


Given the foregoing, is it just possible that our students are being wrongly tested as well?

The council registrar's comments brings me back to my earlier question: does anyone know if it is possible to obtain online copies of past question papers?

All,

It is my understanding that the 80% failure rate recorded is for Mathematics and English.
If this is so, I won't rush to judgement before I have had a chance to review the papers set in those 2 subjects.

Does anyone know how one can obtain online copies of the papers set in these subjects for past 3 years?

I personally nominate Sam Nwanti  - http://nigerianpresident2011.org/ - for comical relief