BusinessDay
Charles Ogwo
June 17, 2025
Common Entrance Examination
The failures often recorded in English language and mathematics in public examinations are weakening Nigeria’s stock of human capital, reducing its capacity to function effectively in a challenging world.
Analysts say a high failure in math could result in absence of rigour and critical thinking, while a drop in English language standards often lead to poor communication and social crisis.
In a space of three years, the students’ failure rate of English language and mathematics stood at an average of 59.13 percent, BusinessDay findings show.
In the 2022/23 West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) Private Candidates’ Examination, there was a 58 percent failure of key subjects, including English and Mathematics. Similarly, in 2023/24 of the same examination, the failure rate stood at 46.36 percent. The failure rate in the 2024/25 exams was 73.04 percent, according to data by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) data.
The persistent decline in pass rate of English and mathematics dents Nigeria’s human capital in the local and global labour markets, painting it as poorly rated.
Nigeria’s education standard has been in the doldrums for decades, and the decline was much exposed by the recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result, with over 1.5 million students scoring below 200 out of 400 marks.
Besides, recently, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, commissioner for basic and secondary education in Lagos State, raised the alarm that over 26,000 students from the state failed the 2024 WASSCE.
The commissioner said that 45.7 percent of the 58,188 students from public schools who sat for the examinations did not pass.
“When the math failure is high, it is an indication that the young people aren’t being rigorous and can’t think critically. How can you solve complex problems in a society when you can’t think?” asked Odion Obuaye, Edo State-based educationist and school proprietor.
“Similarly, an English language failure is an indication that there could be poor communication and understanding of contextual leanings, which could easily trigger crisis from time to time.”
Read also: Education: How corruption taints academic examinations
Falling education standard
A study has shown that the standard of education in Nigeria has fallen at all levels.
The decline is visible in several areas, including in the quality of teaching, the curriculum, the infrastructure, and the learning environment.
Nubi Achebo, director of academic planning at Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM), said the high failure rates in WAEC and JAMB examinations suggest many students are not meeting the expected standards in core subjects such as mathematics and English.
Isaiah Ogundele, an educator, expressed concerns that the future of Nigeria’s educational system is bleak, alleging political infiltration into the educational system.
“When you don’t appoint qualified and committed people into the key posts, the result will be half-baked graduates and a fallen standard,” he argued.
Some of the reasons identified as contributing to the decline in educational standards include: inadequate funding, ineffective implementation of educational policies and programmes, and a lack of commitment to schoolwork.
Low budgets
Over the years, Nigerian budgetary allocation to education has fallen below 10 percent of the total expenditure. Between 2015 and 2025, Nigeria’s education budget has steadily declined from 10.75 percent to just 5.47 percent of the national budget, marking a troubling decade of underinvestment in the country’s most vital development sector.
President Bola Tinubu, in 2025, earmarked N3.5 trillion for education, but only N1.59 trillion was budgeted in 2024, just 5.5 percent of the N28.77 trillion budget.
This plunging trend leaves stakeholders wondering whether the government is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which advocates inclusive and equitable quality education for all.
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has raised the alarm over the plummeting number of qualified teachers to impart knowledge.
Stella-Maria Nwokeocha, a chieftain at TRCN, said, “‘Giant of Africa’ even in matters of education, has a huge share of the teacher shortage. There is a need for continuous updating of the professional skills and competencies of teachers along the lines identified by these evolving global concerns and recommendations.”
JAMB’s lowering of cut-off marks
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has, over the years, been lowering admission cut-off marks in the face of poor students’ performances.
Busayo Aderonmu, a senior lecturer at Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, sees the lowering of the bar as a bad omen for the education system, saying that it amounts to watering down the standards.
“If we look at the 140 cut-off mark, which is 35 percent of the total score on the grade, it is an ‘F.’ A pass mark of ‘E’ starts from 45 percent.
“This implies that we are devaluing the education standard by approving a 35 percent score for admission into tertiary institutions,” she said.
Achebo stressed that JAMB’s decision to lower cut-off marks for university admissions has raised concerns about academic rigour and the potential for admitting underprepared students.
Unemployable graduates
Over the years, studies have shown that Nigerian university graduates are poorly prepared for work after school.
Stakeholders blame this on skills mismatch, a situation where there is a disparity between the skills acquired by students in the universities and the actual skills needed in the labour market.
Achebo disclosed that Nigerian graduates often struggle to find employment due to a mismatch between their skills and industry requirements.
He said this can be due to factors such as inadequate training, lack of practical experience, and poor educational quality.
“The current education system may not be adequately preparing students for the demands of the 21st-century job market, which requires skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy.
“The curriculum and teaching methods may need to be revised to ensure they are relevant to the needs of the modern workforce,” he said.
Jessica Osuere, founder and chief executive officer at RubiesHub educational services, said: “The major reason for graduates’ unemployability is the fact that our education system is unnecessarily certificate-based with more emphasis on theories than practical.”
Achebo advocated reviewing and updating the curriculum to ensure it aligns with modern industry needs and emphasise critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy.
Christopher Itua, head of industrial services and development at the Institute for Industrial Technology (IIT), called for a system that integrates classroom instruction with on-the-job training, which ensures that students gain both the theoretical foundation and practical experience needed to succeed in the workforce.
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Charles Ogwo, Head, Education Desk at BusinessDay Media is a seasoned proactive journalist with over a decade of reportage experience.
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