The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has tasked President Bola Tinubu’s government to put more investment in education, over the recent 2024 results, released by the West African Examinations Council.
INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that WAEC, had earlier announced a 7.69 per cent decrease in the performance of candidates who sat for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination in Nigeria.
The examination’s head in Nigeria, Amos Dangut, stated that the exercise, which was the first conducted under his term was a success.
He said: “WAEC is releasing its results today as out of 1,805, 216 that entered for the exam, 1,332, 089 candidates have credits in five subjects including any subjects with either Mathematics or English language and 1,301, 949 candidates got credits in five subjects including Mathematics and English language accounting for 72.9% of total candidates.
“This is a 7.6 per cent decrease in examination performance compared to last year of 2023 WASSCE. Also 215, 267 results were withheld due to examination malpractice by the candidates.
Meanwhile, Obi, in his reaction to Dangut’s statement on Monday, via his X handle, described the decline as a reminder of the country’s insufficient investment in critical areas such as education, health, and poverty alleviation.
He said: “The recent announcement by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) that it recorded a 7.69 percent decrease in the performance of candidates who sat for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria reaffirms the worrying lack of investment in the critical areas of development, education, health and pulling people out of poverty.
“The report reads in part, “Compared to last year’s 79.81 percent, WAEC said the percentage of candidates who obtained credits and above a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics this year, is 72.12 percent.
“This constant decline in our educational performance and other critical areas demands urgent attention and action.
“With our claimed literacy rate of over 50%, we are still ranked 187 on the global scale of literacy, reflecting a visible lack of commitment to education in the country. Our investment in education, as with other critical areas, remains poor.
“A total capital expenditure for the entire education sector, including the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), was allocated N330.3 billion.
“The aggressive investment in education we made in Anambra State under my administration greatly transformed education in the State, and still bears fruits to this day.”
The recent announcement by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) that it recorded a 7.69 percent decrease in the performance of candidates who sat for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) August 19, 2024
