CURRENT PICTURE OF NIGERIA FOR JUSTIFYING HIGH RATES OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

1. CURRENT PICTURE OF NIGERIA FOR JUSTIFYING HIGH RATES OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT STUDENTS ENTERPRISE CLUB NIGERIA www.studentsenterpriseclub.com

2. PRESENTED BY: OLAYIDE OLAOSEBIKAN VOCATIONS/INNOVATIONS/ CREATIVITY/ SKILLS(VICS)+FUNDING= ENTREPRENEURSHIP

3. O’LEVEL FAILURES =THE GENESIS OF THE PROBLEM

4. THE NATION 31ST AUGUST 2011 • It was another sad day for many parents and students yesterday as mass failure characterised the results of the 2011 June/July Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) announced by the National Examination Council (NECO).  • The picture for WAEC is the same for NECO

5. 2+2=5 • In Mathematics, 1,190,365 registered for the subject while 1,156,561 sat for it, with only 3,356 or 0.28% passed with distinction and 295,961 or 24.86% got credit; 7, 7,395 or 60.27% passed, 89,023 or 7.48% failed • 50,826 or 4.27% malpractices were recorded. • Other core science subjects like Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Further Mathematics also recorded mass failure with high degrees of malpractices also recorded

6. I CAN’T EVEN SPELL A FOR APPLE • NECO’s Okpala revealed that out of the 1,190,393 who registered for  English Language, 1,160,049 actually sat for the examination. • While only 2,119 or 0.18% came out with distinction, 263,777 or 22.16% came out with credit pass, 76,224 or 6.40% failed • There were 51,312 incidents of malpractice.

7. OH MY GOD NOT AGAIN!!! • Prof. Okpala said while the Federal Government and some states have already taken bold steps to improve on the educational standard, all stakeholders will have to be patient before reaping the good results, adding that “the high expectations cannot be achieved  immediately because change in the behavioral pattern of children takes time”. • BUT WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE OF THE BOLD STEPS AND WHICH STATES ARE OKPALA TALKING ABOUT • AND WHY DOES EVERY ONE BLAME WE CHILDREN? THIS IS NOT FAIR MR OKPALA.

8. On whether the Council has an approved syllabus for its candidates and whether schools are being monitored in strict compliance with the approved syllabus • The Registrar said: “In as much as NECO has an approved and standard syllabus, strict compliance with it rests sorely in the hands of each school to ensure that the syllabus is covered in terms of teaching.” • Okpala said: “It cannot be proper for any external examiner to go into schools to analyse how they are teaching their students and for the same examiner to oversee the marking of answer sheets of such students.” • But my Dad said: “That’s so true Professor, we hear that every year sir! Please tell that to the dogs sir”

9. MORE PROBLEMS • STATISTICS REVEALED THAT IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS TO DATE NATIONAL AVERAGE OF PASSES HAVE NOT BEEN UP TO 30% BY NO FEWER THAN 1.4MILLION CANDIDATES • PUPILS IN ELITE PRIVATE SCHOOLS CONSISTS OF THE MAJORITY OF THE MINORITY THAT PASSED • THE PICTURE FOR WAEC RESULTS IS THE SAME FOR NECO AND UTME

10. AND MORE PROBLEMS ALL NIGERIA CONFEDERATION OF PRINCIPALS (ANCOPSS) CHAIRMAN, CHIEF ADENIYI FALADE ON THE 21ST JANUARY 2011 BLAMED THE PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS ON • POOR FUNDING • LACK OF QUALITY TEACHERS • POOR INFRASTRUCTURE • NON AVAILABILITY OF CRUCIAL LEARNING FACILITIES

11. AND MORE AND MORE PROBLEMS REVEALED THROUGH EXPERT ANALYSES • ALL NIGERIA CONFEDERATION OF PRINCIPALS (ANCOPSS) CHAIRMAN CHIEF ADENIYI FALADE ON THE 21ST JANUARY 2011 CALLED FOR A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR • AISHA DAHIRU OF THE JAMB COMMENTED: CANDIDATES FROM PRIVATE SCHOOLS PERFORM BETTER THAN THOSE FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS • DR TUNJI SOBODU BLAMED THE NON USAGE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS • WAEC ALSO IDENTIFIED 21 REASONS WHY STUDENTS IN PREDOMINANTLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS FAIL EN MASS AND WOEFULLY

12. AND MORE AND MORE PROBLEMS REVEALED THROUGH EXPERTANALYSES National association of Nigeria students (NANS) Tribune 6/10/2011 said: Its obvious the standard of education today is nothing to write home about. We need to improve to be able to compete globally. Immediate Past Head of Service to the Federation Professor OladapoAfolabi ,The Nation /10/2011: said Nigeria will not meet the Millennium Development goals(MDGs) due to the state of the curriculum specifically chemistry and the sciences. Clement Kolawole on thursdays: Should be referred to. 6/10/ 2011 ; a new curriculum for secondary schools ?

13. AND THE PROBLEMS STILL WONT GO AWAY AFTER EXPERT ANALYSES • The Punch Page 8 of 9/10/ 2011: The Governors forum of the South South States expressed concern over the lack of interest in education among youths in the region. • But are they investing 26% of their Budget on Education in fairness to the youths they are concerned about? • The punch editorial of the same day on Page 13 :Lamented on the abiding trend of mass failure in NECO exams.

14. AND THE PROBLEMS ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY • UNESCO recommended 26% of budgets Should be spent on education. Is that the case? If so why are there mass failures and strikes if money is available? The answers are: • For the past few years, political leaders and many wealthy parents have attempted to solve the problem in the secondary and tertiary education sector partially by sending their children to Europe, Australia, or the Americas . • Less endowed citizens have made do with sending their children to Ghana or South Africa for secondary and university education. • The report card now indicates that secondary education has failed woefully. • Wriggling out of this problem by planning to send our children to secondary schools in Accra or Kumasi is not likely to go far any longer. • Ghana or South Africa cannot absorb the huge number of students in our secondary schools.

15. AND THE PROBLEM IS GETTING CRAZIER A Stakeholder Said in 2009: • We just have to organise series of stakeholders’ meetings in Abuja, in state capitals, and in local government headquarters to look for how to get out of a very serious national problem. • Nobody, from the presidency down to the local government chairperson can afford in the face of the 75 per cent failure rate in WAEC and 90 per cent failure rate in NECO to pretend that there is no crisis in the nation’s education sector. • Parents that have generally appeared unperturbed by ASUU crisis and the closure of the nation’s universities may not have the luxury of such aloofness on the issue of non-performance in the secondary school sector.

16. AND NOBODY WANTS TO GET BLAMED The stakeholder continued: • Stakeholders’ meetings should allow students and their parents and guardians tell their own stories about their experience with schooling at present and to make suggestions on how to solve the problems arising from a mass pre-college education that is direly needed but which has miscarried in the last twenty-five years or more. • Education was taken more seriously when the regions or states were in charge than it has been in the last three decades of near unitary government in the country. • Secondary education was more productive when most of the schools now in the hands of government were run by sectarian and community groups. • The agenda for stakeholders’ summit on education across the nation should not just be about how to get more money for schools, it must include how to move away from the new culture of credential acquisition to knowledge acquisition.

17. Who do we blame? • Governments? • Parents ? • Pupils? • Examination bodies? • Teachers? • Friends? • Families? • Lack of an alternative curriculum: Vocations leading to Entrepreneurship? • Others? and who are they???

18. AND WAEC SAID:THE MAJOR PROBLEMS ARE: • TEACHER INADEQUACIES • UNDERSKILLED AND UNDERTRAINED TEACHERS • LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE • LACK OF INFORMATION TECHNOGY • NO EVIDENCE OF CONTINUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS AND HEADS • LACK OF INFORMATION FOR EDUCATION MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKERS TO PLAN EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY • PLUS 21 OTHER MAJOR PROBLEMS WHICH THEY DID NOT SAY AND MY MAMA KEEPS ASKING ME ABOUT

19. Cummulative/Resultant effect • 67 million youths including graduates unemployed • 40 million undergraduates being prepared to be unemployed in our tertiary institutions • 20 million would be or potential unemployed secondary school leavers • 20 million pupils in primary schools waiting to add to the unemployment figure

20. ARISE O COMPATRIOTS. • Total population of Nigeria= 170 million • Over 65’s=Pensioners (not supposed to be working via retirement)= 8% of 170 million=13.6 million • Total number of youths not working=147million • Total not working =67+40+20+20+13.6=160.6million • Total working= 170-160.6= 9.4 million

21. WHY ARE 147 MILLION NOT WORKING • 40 MILLION SECONDARY AND PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL PUPILS NOT AVAILABLE FOR WORK BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT OF EMPLOYMENT AGE • 40 MILLION TERTIARY STUDENTS HAVE NO SKILLS TO WORK OR UNEMPLOYABLE EITHER PART TIME OR FULL TIME • 67 MILLION YOUNG PEOPLE INCLUDING GRADUATES CANNOT GET JOBS BECAUSE THERE ARE NO VACANCIES IN THE JOB MARKET AND THEY DON’T EVEN HAVE THE SKILLS THAT EMPLOYERS WANT

22. SO WHO IS WORKING? • CIVIL SERVANTS • POLITICIANS • ARMED FORCES • PARAMILITARY FORCES • FEW PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYEES • VERY VERY FEW ENTREPRENEURS

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