Examination Failure

Examination Failure: An Intervention Model for Bauchi State

Attahiru Kawu-Bala

Last week an acquaintance who happens to be a director at the Ministry of Education Bauchi gave me a call and he extended to the problems of failure in examinations that has again hit many states, including of course, Bauchi State. I have read the news online where the ritual has been once “mass failure” that kept rearing its ugly face on our secondary school education sector. Several reasons have been propounded to policymakers and it is not doubtful that some had been implemented as policies but yet this monster is still staring us as a nation collectively on the face. We read also of the huge amount of money (going into renovation of schools, increase in salaries of teachers, textbooks, etc.) being expenditures spent for or injected into the education sector by states, that is apart from other funds from the Federal Government via the Education Trust Fund and similar funding. There are equally donor agencies and philanthropists who are playing roles in other visible and invisible areas. Why examination failure continues? The concerned people still kept asking.

The examination bodies have even been pushed to the wall to make barricades against constant criticisms being hauled at their doorsteps. In a WAEC English question paper that I read eight years or so ago, the summary section was a passage on examination failure and WAEC cleverly defended itself against such attacks and you will agree with the body―examinations are so simplified in recent years and yet students don’t pass them. Time for mudslinging should end and collectively we should provide a solution or some sort of rescue mission for a quick intervention to be used by the policymakers at all levels.

It is not easy to streamline causes and say this is it as most often these problems are multidimensional and interwoven. Each one supports the other to make it impossible to achieve relative success in our education sector most especially at the secondary schools. You cannot solve one and ignore another. But this shouldn’t frightens our governments both at the federal or states levels. A cause in say “State A” may not be the same as in “State B,” for, societies differ otherwise we risk ourselves to generalization which would be dangerous when dealing with a matter that applies to diverse places even though geographically connected.

In 2004, a friend invited me to undertake a private research about examination failure in Secondary Schools in Azare Metropolis [state government owned schools], from 1994 to 2004. We contacted the then Zonal Educational Officer and he informed all principals of the affected schools. We only studied the examinations took by the students in the decade so stated and it was a surprise. It revealed bleak realities―in the whole of these secondary schools in the metropolis only less than 10 percent passed English and Mathematics from 1994 to 2004. You could interpret the statistic to mean that while all these years the students were graduating majority of them could not be admitted into higher institutions of learning going by the requirements for credits in English and Mathematics.

Here we are not even talking of JAMB as the first hurdle has not been escaped by the students. As researchers, we couldn’t move beyond to raise alarm however to be fair at least it yielded a result. I still recall we gave a copy of the research to many stakeholders, community elders, and interestingly Alhaji (Dr.) Aminu Saleh, GCON, Wamban Katagum and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, wrote a lengthy pamphlet which he published as booklets subsequent to the effort (stating the statistics of our research and highlighting previous government policies and the need to salvage the situation). He therefore extended the cry to the policymakers on the need to rescue the education sector. I was made to believe that the Bauchi State Government acted swiftly which saw the creation of interventions to conduct remedial teaching in the three geo-political zones. And we were aware the Emir of Katagum also inaugurated a committee (Kwamitin Majalisar Sarkin Katagum Kan Ciyadda Da Ilimi Gaba) that same 2004 chaired by Alhaji (Dr.) Aminu Saleh. We held a meeting with the Kwamitin Sarki when Alhaji (Dr.) Aminu Saleh called upon us for talks and we told his committee that we had then established a remedial school, Madarasatul Tarbiyyatul Tullab (translated roughly as School for Orientation of Students), where like-minded people like us―doctors and staff of the Federal Medical Centre; teachers and lecturers from Federal Government College and College of Education―all in Azare―and numerous others were assigned subjects to teach free-of-charge in the evenings and weekends.

Even before this school, the Madarasatul Tarbiyyatul Tullab, part of us had conducted extramural classes in 1994 where we taught students, who were about to write SSCE (Secondary School Certificate Examinations). In all the experiments we have seen good results. The first set that wrote SSCE in 1994 when we started, the community now has doctors, engineers, police officers, trained teachers and host of other good products. The brains behind the effort have not relented as evidence in the compiled statistic that they gave me recently and amazingly it contains a whole list of professionals about to graduate from institutions across Nigeria.

If any, the difference with the two efforts is that the first (MTT) was set up by a religious organization as its own modest intervention while the second one by what you may call “education activists” which benefited all students (Igbos, Yorubas, and numerous communities whose sons and daughters are studying in Azare) otherwise we applied the same method though in the second one we only admitted best students from the nearest secondary schools―as some teachers among us objected that we cannot rescue those who did not understand the need to be achievers―who ironically happens still to be the crowd in our schools. Well, personally I had no objection with such thought but it is the system that we found ourselves in that has made it difficult for this crowd to understand the purpose of being students in the first place. So how is it possible for them to have the consciousness to be achievers? This is the same repeated mistake for those who think they could only rescue their children in the present education fiasco. Don’t ask me about the other students that constituted the remaining percentage of the failure in my metropolis from 1994-2004. Azare that used to be pretty peaceful over the years suddenly became a flashpoint of arson and crises in 2011.

In the intervention adopted we have come to realize that most of the problems of the students in these schools centers on communication. A sample of the students then were from Federal Government College, Demonstration Secondary School (COE), Special Secondary School, Government Comprehensive Day Secondary, Government Day Secondary School, Government Girls Secondary School, and other youth that were studying in other parts of Bauchi State as well as neighbouring states such as Yobe and Plateau States―students that enjoy their school holidays in Azare. When a teacher speaks to them in the class they do understand but some couldn’t write well in the examinations we conducted. The overall problem as we gathered was how the students approached examinations. Most do not know how to answer question papers and this is the finale of problem associated with understanding the language of instruction in their schools which seems poor as I write.

That said there is also on the part of teachers whom it is easy to gather that teaching has now been centralized to the core content of the various subjects albeit vaguely. The few that will be lucky to grasp that which is taught to them could be able to connect the dots and pass some of the examinations but for the rest it will be difficult. For, they have two problems―understanding the contents of subjects and the ability to understand questions being asked by say, WAEC and NECO which again takes us to the problem of English Language. So we devised a new teaching methodology where the aim now shifts from contents of subjects to exam-oriented teaching―where students are taught basically to pass the main examinations (SSCE) that could guarantee them being admitted into higher institutions of learning in the country. It is not that our students are not knowledgeable but SSC examinations results hinder them to get the required credits to study in higher institutions. Whatever maybe the case we could use at least SS III to help students understand methods of answering examinations.

Some critics may object to the method but to us it proved rewarding because the students had been admitted and are coping substantially well in all the higher institutions where they are currently studying. We equally selected contents in the curriculum that by experience most of these examinations bodies often ask questions from. The students became wiser too as were not caught unaware as they read having sample of questions and how to answer them in the minds. As for the students at the JJS we taught them basic subjects to prepare them for the senior classes. This too is good as it prevents students from being wasted in the system when the eventually they reach SS I to SS III. Having realized the need for good conduct, we found ourselves also teaching morals in specific classes meant for that coupled with the teaching of career guidance. The extra murals extended to also harmful conducts and other bad events that have now characterized life in our societies―the idea here is to get the minds of students set against criminal behaviours that youthfulness might not give them opportunity to appreciate. Life has purpose and they feel oriented to appreciate just that.

Let’s come to specifically the issue of language of instruction and its understanding among students. This is a problem even in universities and other institutions. Are we to kick against the English Language? Certainly, no and it should be continued despite the Federal Government’s policy that vernacular should be used in some instances most especially junior levels. It should be noted that WAEC and NECO are required to be answered in English. When students are admitted from primary into secondary schools I suggest that the first year should be devoted to the English Language and maybe with Mathematics. That should mean the English Language should be divided into sections such as Oral, Grammar, Comprehension, Summary and Lexis and Structure. And cap it up with Reading and Writing to include all sorts of essays and letters. Teaching here should also rigorous to extend to beyond conventional textbooks: newspaper cut outs provide samples of essays which could serve as ready-made content. So from JSS I to JSS II if the first year is devoted to this experiment then second and third years should be core subjects so that what students are expected to learn in the three years could be squeezed during the remaining two-year period at the JSS level. Or if we say that why core subjects are neglected then the basics in these subjects should be taught thereby according the English Language substantial time throughout the first year at the junior level. When students appreciate the language of instruction they tend to be good, brilliant students―they could take any textbook and read on their own without much difficulty. So since we have dearth of teachers of the English Language then other teachers in our schools should be made to assist in teaching the language in the first years suggested.

When a language of instruction is understood adequately it complements teaching in the classrooms. Same should be applied to the SS level. I mentioned squeezing of contents of subjects within a given period above but that shouldn’t be a cause for concern as teachers should ask students to read other areas not so difficult on their own with guidelines since the foundation―language of instruction―is now laid well for the students and they can be catalysts to their own achievements especially when attitude to learning has changed. Harnessing potentials of students through the teaching of language of instruction in the first time of school years was the method adopted on us when we were admitted into College of Education Azare in the early 1990s. No wonder then that the College was among the leading colleges of education affiliated to the Ahmadu Bello University.

Another advantage is that language when well appreciated creates in the students the ability to transfer learning. In Commerce, Economics, Business Management, Geography and Agriculture there is a topic being taught even now called “Localization of Industries,” which is the same in all the five subjects I previously stated. So with good understanding of language a student need not to be taught the same topic in all the five subjects as he or she could be able to transfer what he or she was taught in say Commerce to Economics and by extension all the remaining three subjects. Here principals or subjects coordinators should see that the teacher who happens to be teaching say Economics at the SS level should teach the topic (Localization of Industries) to the SS students particularly where they all offer the five mentioned subjects. Economics is a general subject being offered and it can be used to balance the need to have to teach same topic in other subjects. We can adopt similar transfer of learning in the sciences and languages. Whether it be Hausa, Igbo, Arabic, or Yoruba, etc. most especially in the northern states, English should complement Hausa and vice versa at least noun in Grammar is noun elsewhere and there are many areas like that. Moreso knowledge is interrelated and the students should be made to understand so. You may ask of grey areas in the transfer of learning. That should be treated by the teachers of the said different subjects so they just explain grey areas in “localization,” to the students adding on what the Economics teacher has already taught them.

We can also borrow a leap from other advanced countries to further our cause. We have a defeatist’s mentality at times. Japan’s system according to Professor Yoshio Sugimoto in An Introduction to Japanese Society is that teachers are assigned a number of students to take care of in the local communities where the teachers live and they report the students’ behaviours to the schools all the time. This could be adopted to involve all our teachers, public servants, retired officials and others (who waste time chatting by the road sides) to monitor students’ development especially those residing nearby. A stipend could be paid for such communal service under a carefully supervised structure and to be assessed by education officials. It is going to be like a tripartite programme between the Ministry, schools administrators (principals) and the communities. Where examination report sheets are given to students they should demand to see them and chat with the affected students for warning, encouragement and motivation. And monitoring should extend to such areas as to know how many lessons the students under their care were taught as required in schools.

In the long term, schools should be made attractive so that they compete with events or things that make students distracted from the four walls of school―maximize the use of time being spent by students in a day―and those who are assisting in thwarting government’s desire for change should be dealt with. We cannot afford to allow those who have set up businesses in our communities that distract students from learning.

Decongestion of classrooms and schools should be a priority in the coming years. All schools should have aids to teaching coupled with libraries and events that have been abandoned in schools administration should be revived. I still recall what I saw during our trip to the Central Post Office and NITEL Bauchi, all away in “Roka” from Gamawa in 1987. We have forgotten about schools gardens and farms, sports―cross country―and various inter-schools games. Do we have clubs and societies in our schools? What happens to speech and prize giving days that used to glitter the eyes? And debates between schools? All these good things have gone with the wind and we must go back to them as they have helped in creating brilliant students and the redundancy has now created even a security concern. The Government should identify genuine partners in all the local government areas who freely are assisting in the business of education and comes out with a policy to maximize the efforts. The greatest intervention however should be how the primary schools should, in a holistic manner, be resuscitated from directions, that is what one “education activist” kept telling us and we should rub honest minds here soon to come out with an emergency in Bauchi State before the year runs out. No change is impossible if we desire it.

· Kawu Bala writes from Independence Plaza, Belmopan City, Belize, Central America, where he is currently serving under the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corps Programme.