Amid rising concern over Nigeria’s education sector, key stakeholders have decried the worsening learning conditions, examination malpractice, and poor results in national and regional assessments, calling for urgent and sweeping reforms.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Ogun State Chapter has demanded a comprehensive overhaul of teaching facilities nationwide and a decisive clampdown on examination leaks, while the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) is pushing for policies to strengthen reading culture and improve teacher training.
On its part, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has also lamented what it described as a systemic failure in the conduct of examinations.
Their reactions come in the wake of earlier public outcry over students’ performance in the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), even after the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) revised results upward following the discovery of grading errors.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers, Ogun State Wing, through its State Secretary, Comrade Oyelere Samson, noted that although WAEC initially announced that 87.24 per cent of candidates obtained five credits or more, the pass rate in core subjects like English Language and Mathematics was only 38.32 per cent.
Even after WAEC reviewed the figures upward to 91.14 per cent due to a technical error, Samson insisted that much needed to be done to improve the system.
He lamented that many students have lost interest in academics, with social media distractions eroding moral values.
“Whenever we want to talk about poor student performance, all stakeholders should be held responsible.
“Some now say education is a scam, which is unfortunate. Parents, too, should be blamed; some even attack teachers in schools, something unheard of in the past,” he said.
Samson also criticised outdated teaching methods, such as the continued use of chalkboards, while other countries are investing in smart classrooms and hands-on learning.
He also pointed to poor infrastructure, inadequate teacher motivation, and subject qualification mismatches as major contributors to poor performance.
“How do you expect quality results when someone trained in English is teaching Social Studies, or a Social Studies graduate is teaching Biology?” he queried.
On solutions, Samson called on students, parents, government, and educators to “turn a new leaf” and adopt modern learning methods. He urged examination bodies to enforce strict anti-malpractice measures.
He added, “All the stakeholders, starting from the students themselves, because many are not showing that passion to learn.
“The advent of social media has taken its time. What they watch on social media has affected their moral value, has also changed their mind from learning, because many of them will even say that education is a scam, which ordinarily hurts to come out of their mouth.
“Students and parents should be blamed because parents are not doing enough. You now have parents going to school and attacking teachers.
“All those things, no one has ever heard of them. So, parents and employers should be blamed because we are still operating with archaic methods while things have evolved.
“People are talking about smart classrooms. We are still making use of chalkboards. Our teaching and learning process is still about theory, not practical, and what students can see.
“So, all this can affect. What about infrastructural development in our schools, the learning conditions, and the teachers’ motivation? So, teachers who are not motivated cannot do much. Insufficient teachers in our schools, teachers who studied English, you are asking the person to go and teach social studies.
“Those who study social studies, you are asking them to go and teach biology. What do we expect? So, all stakeholders should be blamed. Then, number three, what is your general advice to schools, parents, government, and the students themselves, in the future? All stakeholders should turn over a new leaf.
“Let us think of a better way to do things in Nigeria. Let the exam body also learn how to control, and let there be control measures towards their examination platform. We cannot deny that the glitches they were talking about were not actually from them,’ he added.
Meanwhile, NAPTAN urged the government to promote a stronger reading culture, improve teacher training, and invest in ICT infrastructure to keep pace with global education standards.
NAPTAN President Alhaji Haruna Danjuma attributed students’ poor performance to teaching gaps, a shortage of qualified teachers, inadequate teaching materials, and the challenges of computer-based examinations for students with little ICT exposure.
“Our children should imbibe reading culture, while the government should provide adequate computers to students and teachers by next year.
“What I think are the factors behind this year’s results are the introduction of computer-based examination, and my general overview of this year’s WASSCE results that have been released is that, because some candidates do not have computer knowledge, and computer-based examination blocks chances of examination malpractice, some students did not prepare for the exam.
“Some public schools lack teaching and learning materials for teachers and students, and the environment is not conducive for students and their teachers.
“The issue of insecurity matters a lot, and again, shortages of experienced teachers and their remuneration matter a lot,” he added.
Also, NANS National PRO Comrade Adeyemi Ajasa described the exam conditions for some students as appalling and linked the performance to systemic failure.
“Look at the day they wrote the English Language paper, it was horrific. Candidates were drained emotionally and physically,” he said.
He also blamed technical hitches, poor coordination, and leadership failures for the country’s widespread examination failures.
LEADERSHIP recalls that WAEC released the revised results for the 2025 WASSCE a few days ago after discovering grading discrepancies that significantly affected performance statistics.
WAEC Nigeria’s Head, Dr. Amos Dangut, admitted that an error in marking serialised English Language objective papers led to misrepresenting scores. The mistake, traced to a wrongly assigned code file, affected other subjects such as Mathematics, Biology, and Economics.
Following the correction, 1,794,821 candidates, representing 91.14 per cent, obtained credit and above in at least five subjects (with or without English and Mathematics), while 1,239,884 candidates (62.96 per cent) secured five credits, including English and Mathematics.
Despite the improvement, 2025’s performance still reflected a 9.16 per cent drop compared to 2024. WAEC also disclosed that the results of 191,053 candidates (9.7 per cent) were withheld over malpractice allegations.
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