…With 2.3% increase compared with June/July 2019 SSCE recorded in 2020
By Waliu Adeyeri
Despite challenges ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic, more students passed the National Examination Council (NECO) 2020 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal.
This is as a result of the parental guidance and other support gotten from government, non-governmental organisations and other volunteers during the lockdown.
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According to the report from the National Examination Council (NECO) for the 2020 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal, 894,101 representing 73.89% candidates made five (5) credits and above including English Language and Mathematics.
This rate represents 2.3% increase when compared to 2019 June/July SSCE figures of 829,787.
Also, 1,112,041 representing 91.91% candidates made five (5) credits and above irrespective of English Language and Mathematics. A comparison with 2019 June/July SSCE figures of 1,042,989 showed that there is an increase of 2.01%.
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The report above is an indicative of the fact that the performance of students in the SSCE rose despite the global pandemic and #EndSARS crisis.
Many would have been expecting a woeful performance due to the lockdown placed on schools for more than 6 months.
However, the lockdown appears to be a blessing in disguise as many parents had enough time to attend to the academic needs of their wards personally.
During the lockdown, many parents had to remain at home while the essential workers continued working.
Parents working from home or those that could not go out spend enough time to ensure that their children are studying and preparing for the exams.
This, inarguably contributed to the growth in the number of students that passed the 2020 NECO SSCE.
Other factors that can be highlighted as responsible for this growth is the continuous e-learning.
States such as Lagos State intensified its Radio and television interactive classes for SSCE candidates.
Online classes, organised by schools, volunteer groups and many more via social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram hugely impacted this development.
These factors among others hugely contributed to this achievement.
In as much as we don’t wish for another lockdown due to the difficulties that come with it, we can only advise that in order to achieve academic excellence in Nigeria, all hands must be on deck.
Parents, importantly, have major roles to play in this, while the government and NGOs need to facilitate academic programmes that would further enhance academic excellence in the nation.
