Ministry, others partner to check exams failure

FRESH strategies are being put in place by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and stakeholders to ensure that mass failure recorded in core science subjects in 2011 West African Examination Council (WAEC) and recently released National Examination Council (NECO), examinations in the country did not continue.The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Dere Awosika, told The Guardian at the weekend, during the Arise Work Conference, organised by Jesus Christ Power World Evangelism (JCPWE) at Excellence Hotels, Lagos that the situation was of great concern to the country.In Mathematics, according to the recently released NECO results, 1,190,365 registered for the subject, while 1,156,561 sat for it, with only 3,356 or 0.28 per cent passed with distinction and 295,961 or 24.86 per cent got credit; 7, 7,395 or 60.27 per cent passed, 89,023 or 7.48 per cent failed while 50,826 or 4.27 per cent malpractices were recorded.Other core science subjects like Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Further Mathematics also recorded mass failure with high degree of malpractices also recorded.Awosika, who said that such failure was a national embarrassment, stressed that efforts were being to ensure that the ugly trend did not continue in 2012.'It is a real problem and concern to the country. Science is live and there is a high challenge for the country. We need to get our children to do sciences. We have to embark on good strategic plans to get our children learn sciences.'Sometimes it happens, but we have to get it right in 2012. The problem is that the youths don't set their heart on God, but lusting after wealth. The mass failure in both NECO and WAEC would not occur in 2012,' Awosika added.
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