Nahimat Adekoga
A Non-Governmental Organisation, Teens and Times has said that about 95 per cent of students writing Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations, (WAEC) do not read, but pay their way out of school.
The Coordinator of the NGO, Nnenna Opigbe, blamed the development on proliferation of miracle centres and connivance of parents with schools to pass their children at all cost.
Opigbe told newsmen on Wednesday in Kaduna, that the students have presumed that reading hard does not translate to good grades, so they pay to get good grade.
She said: “When I interact with some of these students about their reading habits they will say aunty, do not worry, we will pass and their parents will pay and will pass.
“What worries me is that these students are intelligent, creative and innovative and could pass their exam on their own.
Opigbe said there was the need for massive reorientation campaign to enlighten parents on the dangers of such practice to the future of the children.
“They should be interested in making their children get better academically, not just the certificate.”
She added that reading culture has been eroded in schools because most school owners were afraid of recording poor results.
“Schools should concentrate in developing these students for their own betterment and not mainly for the school pockets.”
The coordinator urged relevant government agencies to come up with strict regulations to stem all form of examination malpractice, to encourage students to read and become better persons in the society.
Teens and Times is a Kaduna-based organisation aimed at entrenching positive ideas and ideals in the minds of the youths to make them better adults tomorrow.
