The Lagos state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Tolani Alli-Balogun, Thursday, said over 31, 596 students failed the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) last year in the state.
He stated this while reeling out the scorecard achievements of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration at the secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
He lamented that the government spent over N1.5 billion to ensure the students participated in the examination without delay.
He stated further that the standard of education in Lagos state has started witnessing sharp decline despite the huge budget allocated annually to the sector.
He said 54.3 per cent of the 58,188 students who participated in the 2024 West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) failed the examination.
“The 45.7 percent of the Senior Secondary School (SSS) students, who took part in the examination could scale the hurdle with the two major subjects, English and Mathematics.
“A check on the statistics provided by the government further revealed that of the 58,188 students, who participated in the examination, 45.7 percent amounted to 26,591 passed while 31,596 others would have to retake the examination,” Balogun said.
He noted that failure rate may be higher even as cases of malpractice during examinations have reduced drastically across the state.
He added that the government was already addressing the challenge in WASSCE including prevention of an over bloated number of students for the examination beginning from 2025.
He said: “We held strategic meetings with principals across the six education districts to address this decline and called for the exclusive promotion of high-achieving students to terminal class.
“This measure, we believe, will end the practice of mass promotion of students, which hitherto, has not yielded positive results. It would also encourage intending final year students to work harder, strive for excellence, lead to better academic outcomes, improve overall performance of students and raise the standards of education in the state.
“We have also called for swift action to revive various school activities that tap into students’ natural learning abilities to stimulate their physical and mental well-being, including reactivation of co-curricular activities that foster holistic development in students.
“We have started implementation of strategies that promote interactive learning, such as incorporating hands-on activities, experiments, and projects. This is aimed at encouraging students to learn by doing, reviving sports, physical and health education programmes that promote physical fitness, teamwork and mental discipline.”