Factors responsible for sudden increase in academic failure in Nigeria

It is quite shocking how the increase in academic failure in Nigeria has skyrocketed. We will attempt some of the factors responsible for this sudden increase in academic failure.

The recent JAMB score release showed vividly the need for a thorough check on the education system. According to the management of JAMB, the percentage of those who scored 120 marks and above out of the possible 400 in 2021 in 99.65 of the entire candidates but the figure stood at 99.80 in 2020.

Although Nigerians accused the board of deliberately failing the students, they refuted that questions were set from the syllabus. A copy of which it claimed were made available to candidates through about three different platforms.

More so, the recent result released by the Nigerian Law School on Tuesday had it that A total of 1,325 persons have failed the bar final examination 2021. Where a total of 5,770 persons sit for the examination.

Regardless, learning is a product of formal schooling and families, communities, and peers. Social, economic and cultural forces affect learning and thus school. However, we will discuss some of the factors responsible for the sudden increase in academic failure in the country.

Factors responsible for the increase in academic failure

As a student, if you fail an examination, most people including your parent, friends and loved ones do not hesitate to conclude that you have failed to study for the examination.

 1. Failure to meet the examination requirement

Every examination has a range of required knowledge from their candidates. This, moreover, is usually found in the syllabus. Some students read randomly without even knowing what is expected of them by the examination body.

As a result, many read below expected while others waste useful time that should have been used to cover the whole syllabus above expected on few topics. They end up knowing few questions from the little topics they have read. To avoid falling victim to this:

• Ensure you have the official syllabus
• Use the textbooks recommended by the examination body(if any)
• Ensure you cover the syllabus before the commencement of the examination.

2. Lack of plan

The popular clause ‘if you fail to plan, you have planning to fail,’ is absolutely true. Notwithstanding, the importance of having a study plan should not be underestimated. It is a vital step towards effective reading.

Many students read for examination without effective planning. This attitude makes students fail to meet the requirements for the examination.

Set daily targets and ensure you achieve them. If for any reason you are not able to meet the daily target, try as much as possible to sacrifice your night or other time to achieve them. Don’t leave the daily targets unachieved! A reading timetable should be drawn and ensure you stick to it! Spend more time on your weakness(es)

3. Lack of confidence

Few students that read effectively fail examinations due to a lack of confidence. However, Confidence is only built up when you have prepared adequately for an examination. So, read effectively, confide in yourself and the story will change.

4. Teacher’s morale and motivation

While the demands on teachers are increasing, there is mounting evidence that their morale is dying. This decline in morale has serious implications for recruitment, consolidation as well as teacher performance.

The perception that the status of teachers in society is declining is encouraged by the use of shorter teacher training programmes and lowered entry qualifications for teaching.

Painfully, qualified teachers believe that their work is diminished in the eyes of the public by the employment of unqualified people who are also called for teaching. In this area, I believe the government must do justice.