The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has attributed the mass failure of students in the West Africa Examination Council exams to poor funding of the education sector.
Obi stated that the 7.69% decrease in Nigerian students’ performance in the 2024 WAEC results highlights the lack of investment in critical areas of development, including education.
He emphasized that the constant decline in educational performance demands urgent attention and action, according to Daily Post.
Obi noted that despite a claimed literacy rate of over 50%, Nigeria ranks 187th globally, reflecting a lack of commitment to education.
He criticized the allocation of N330.3 billion for the entire education sector, including the Universal Basic Education Commission, as “visibly poor” for a country with over 100,000 schools.
Obi called for increased investment in education to address the declining performance and improve the country’s literacy rate.
Obi said, “The recent announcement by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) that it recorded a 7.69 percent decrease in the performance of candidates who sat for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria reaffirms the worrying lack of investment in the critical areas of development, education, health and pulling people out of poverty.
“This constant decline in our educational performance and other critical areas demands urgent attention and action.
“With our claimed literacy rate of over 50%, we are still ranked 187 on the global scale of literacy, reflecting a visible lack of commitment to education in the country. Our investment in education, as with other critical areas, remains poor.
“A total capital expenditure for the entire education sector, including the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), was allocated N330.3 billion. For a country with about 81,520 schools at the primary level and 23,550 schools at the secondary level, such an amount is visibly poor.”
