Peter Obi: 7.69% drop in WASSCE performance reflects lack of investment in education

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, says Nigeria’s performance drop of 7.69 percent in the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) reflects a lack of investment in education.

The 2024 WASSCE was held for a period of seven weeks and six days spanning April 30 to June 24.

On August 12, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) began releasing the results of candidates who wrote the exam.

A total of 1,814,736 candidates had registered while and 1,805,216 candidates sat the examination.

A performance analysis showed that 1,301,941 candidates (representing 72.12 percent) obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

Year-on-year comparison revealed that the 2024 WASSCE saw a 7.69 percent decrease from the 79.81 percent pass rate recorded in 2023.

Reacting to this, Peter Obi said in a statement on Monday that the performance drop reflects a worrying lack of investment in education.

Obi cited other critical areas that potentially impact education outcomes as including development, health, and poverty alleviation.

He argued that Nigeria still ranks 187 on the global scale of literacy despite laying claim to over 50 percent literacy rate.

Obi called on the federal government to urgently address what he decribed as a “constant decline” in Nigeria’s education performance.

“A total capital expenditure for the entire education sector, including the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), was allocated N330.3 billion,” the presidential candidate said.

“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.”