The Lagos State government has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the declining performance of students in state-owned schools in the Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO). It has challenged school principals, their deputies, and students to be more committed to their responsibilities.
The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Jamiu Alli-Balogun, raised this concern on Thursday during the ministerial press briefing organised by the state government to commemorate the second anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Olumide Sogunle, SSA to the Governor on Media, Mr Gboyega Akosile, and top officials from the state ministry of education and its agencies, including SUBEB, LASTVEB, and TESCOM, were all in attendance.
According to Mr Alli-Balogun, the students’ performance in external exams, particularly the last school-based WASSCE, did not justify the significant resources the state government has invested in education. He noted that the Lagos State government, as part of its free education policy at primary and secondary school levels, pays the registration fees for all SS3 students in state-owned schools to sit for WAEC exams annually, at a considerable cost.
He revealed that the state government paid N1.58 billion to WAEC for 58,188 public school students for last year’s May/June school-based exams. For this year’s edition, which commenced nationwide on Thursday, the state government has registered 56,134 students.
The Commissioner emphasised that the state government expects school leadership and students to improve their performance in external exams, rather than continue the recent trend of decline. He disclosed that only about 47 per cent of students who sat the exam last year passed in five compulsory subjects, including English Language and Mathematics—a result deemed unacceptable by the state government.
