The Director of Studies of Difas School, Taiwo JoJolola, has blamed parents and social media for the massive failure in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Concise News reports.

This online news medium understands that there was a poor showing by candidates who sat for the 2019 UTME, according to the results released by JAMB.
And according to Jojolola, the development can be traced to the parents’ wanting their kids to pass examinations without putting in the hard work.

Jojolola who is also a writer and broadcaster recalled that most parents have offered her money to help their kids cheat during examinations.

“As an educationist, what do you think is responsible for the falling standard of education? Parents are responsible for the falling standard of education in the country,” she told Vanguard.

“It is really alarming coming in contact with graduates who can’t defend their certificates. Because our school is a JAMB accredited centre, I come in contact with a lot of students and parents who come to the centre to write [the] Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

“You find parents of some of these students attempting to bribe you. A child that knows that the parent will pay a teacher to pass exams will not study their books. Quote me here, parents are responsible for low education standard.”

She said, “There was a time when children came to write the UTME here, a woman came to me with N50, 000 and her child number, I disgraced her openly. I remember when I was doing my post-graduate diploma, PGD, and I was hearing slang like ‘NA.’

“Honestly, it took time to discover that it means ‘non-appearance.’ Some parents register their children or wards, pay the teachers who will go and write the exams while their children go to sleep.

“At the end of the day, the child has a result with 9A or 8As. Because they can’t defend it, when they get to the university, they begin to bribe lecturers. These days, parents don’t force children to read.

“The social media too has not helped. Instead of reading, they are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

“A child that you are telling to read wants to watch Big Brother Naija. If there is a way parents can change that mentality honestly, things will fall in place.”