Sylva's Wife Laments Mass Failure in WAEC, NECO

Wife of the Bayelsa State Governor, Mrs. Alayingi Sylva

From Segun James in Yenagoa

Wife of the Bayelsa State Governor, Mrs. Alayingi Sylva, has lamented the poor performance of students in the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations nationwide, saying it was a national embarrassment.

Sylva said she was particularly alarmed by the low performance in the last examinations, adding that there was need to review the nation's education policy.

She urged various state governments to come together to fashion up a new educational policy and structure for the nation.

Sylva said the dismal results announced by the examination bodies were as a result of the poor school system and the non-reading culture of youths in the country.

Sylva, who made her position known yesterday during the formal presentation of over 500 subsidised Zinox Mini Laptops to pupils and teachers of various secondary schools in Bayelsa state, said the poor school system and the non-reading culture could be solved with the introduction of students to computer education and operation.

She noted that a nation without the affirmative posture on computer education might not achieve the desired result, adding that: “Without computer in the curriculum, the students are nothing. You can see the recent result of national examinations, they were a national embarrassment. Bayelsa was rated one of the poorest in term of performance in examination result, but we are now picking up.”

She pointed out that the positive results being recorded by students in the state were due to the introduction of computer education and distribution of computers and laptop to pupils and teachers. She informed the audience that the partnership with Zinox Computer was a progressive one and done to better the standard of education in the country.

Earlier in his speech, the Managing Director of Zinox Computers, Mr. Umukoro Inonetimi, said though the partnership with States on renewed effort to create reading culture and improve standard of performance in examinations through computer distribution and education started with Bayelsa, the acceptance of the project by the wife of the state governor was the key to the project.