This year’s results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination have shown a steady decline in the performance of Gambian students, with only 475 candidates getting university entrance out of a staggering 13,335 registered.
A statement from the exam body WAEC indicated that 12,860 candidates have failed to secure university entrance criteria.
The results make this year’s the worst in the last few years.
Summary
A total of 13,335 candidates from 116 senior secondary schools registered for the examination across The Gambia. Out of 13,335 that registered, 6,061 (45. 45%) are boys while 7, 274 (54.55%) are girls.
A total of 241 boys (3.98%) have credit passes in FIVE subjects and above including English Language and Mathematics while 234 girls (3.21%) have credit passes in FIVE subjects and above including English Language and Mathematics.
Speaking to The Standard, Musa Bah, English teacher at Nusrat Senior Secondary School, said the awful results are everyone’s making.
“I think the failure of the education system is a reflection of the poor curriculum and many other factors. From the government, to WAEC, parents, teachers and students all have a portion of the blame. Perhaps the free education introduced by government is a contributing factor. Government should either pay school fees and let parents pay for books or vice versa. If people do not spend money on something, they don’t usually value it. Thus, for parents to take interest in their kids’ education, they have to have spent some money in it,” he said.
