Before I hit you with the trending news on education in Nigeria, let me describe the standard for meriting admission into higher institutions from secondary school.
In the final examination of secondary school — the biggest one organized by a board in Africa called the West African Examinations Council — it is mandatory that for a candidate of the examination to be considered qualified to seek admission using the result of this examination, they must have five credits, including (compulsorily) Mathematics and English Language. Yeah, this is applicable in all disciplines one is seeking to study in a tertiary institution. This means that even if you merit ten subjects and you miss either Mathematics or English, the result will be useless except another one is merged with it.
This has been affecting the educational system for a long time, giving tough struggles to students in securing admission into higher institutions. I personally passed through these hurdles when I was finalizing my final year in secondary school, and I was heavily delayed before securing admission into a higher institution.
But now, there’s a change — Mathematics is no longer compulsory.
Hold on, Mathematics is no longer compulsory for students who are not going to study science courses in school.
This new change has raised a lot of discussions and debates, and I must say, the change has two sides, with advantages and disadvantages.
The Ministry of Education in Nigeria explained clearly that the decision is to make the educational system more balanced and easier for students to gain admission into universities, as the previous rule was heavily depriving many of admission into the university, especially those who are not interested in Mathematics and are not intending to study science-related courses in the university. While that is understandable and applaudable, it’s also noted that most students may not take Mathematics seriously, and meanwhile, Mathematics is a bedrock in education and in our daily life.
Well, as for me, it’s a good improvement in our educational system because I have never been a fan of forcing subjects or courses on students to learn. But in another way, I think Mathematics should still remain compulsory but be reduced to a simpler form at the secondary school level, which will make it a bit easier for average students to pass.
Thanks for reading.
Wow I saw something like that on social media but I thought it was a joke, so it actually true hmm it well with our country. Thanks for the update.