The Oyo state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria and other stakeholders in the education sector have raised concern over the performance of the students in the 2024 Joint Admission Matriculation Board, (JAMB) conducted into tertiary institutions nationwide and the West African Examination Council, (WAEC) zonal statistics and other factors responsible for the dwindling standard of education sector in the region.

The Board registrar, Prof. Isaq Oloyede had in his breakdown of the result of 1,842,464 candidates noted that, 8,401 candidates score 300 and above; 77,070 scored 250 and above, 439,974 score 200 and above while 1,402,490 scored below.

This development and other factors responsible for the dwindling standard of education in Southwest necessitated the necessitated the Southwest Education Stakeholders summit themed: Collaborating for Improved Learning Outcomes held in Ibadan on Wednesday.

The summit which was organized by DAWN in collaboration with relevant stakeholders is aimed at revamping the sector and put it in good stead for better performance.

Governor, Seyi Makinde, while declaring the summit open stressed the need for the input of the stakeholders in the region to revamp the sector.

Makinde, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education.admitted that challenges facing the education are too numerous, hence the need for the education summit.

He said, “There Is a lot of gabs which we can notice in physical education in the development of our young ones, and we are here to chart a new course to see that those challenges are addressed. And to also lay emphasize on its implementation.

“We may identify the various challenges, speak a lot, have a lot of statistics, roll down to us, have a lot of papers presented, but what do we do with these information after living this place.

“So, we must have these responsibilities of going back to our states to see that indeed we bring education back to the stage it ought to be, and this is a collective responsibility.” He urged.

Earlier in his address, the Director General of DAWN, Dr. Seye Oyeleye admitted that the present standard of education in the region could not be compared with what was obtainable in the past.

He added that Chief Obafemi Awolowo with the introduction of free education raised the standard bar in the 60s but it is sad to note that the standard bar has been lowered with an unimpressive performance of the students from the region in externally conducted examination.

Oyeleye stated that in order to reclaim the lost glory, the summit is put together to X-ray the challenges in the education sector and proffer solution.

According to him, “The current state of basic education in our region demands our collective attention. Recent results from JAMB and WAEC zonal statistics reveal significant challenges in students performance.

“To address the challenges facing our education section, we have assembled a diverse group of stakeholders including government officials, educators, parents and development partners to identify effective strategies for improving learning outcomes in our basic education system.

” The Southwest Education Summit 2024 is a response to this call for action. Our diverse perspectives and experiences will guide us in identifying and sharing successful approaches to basic education management”

Also in his goodwill message,The Senior Education Adviser, British High Commission, Ian Attfield, submitted that the summit would be an avenue for the stakeholders to brainstorm and come come out with policy that would be centred on how to revamp the sector. (Nigerian Tribune)

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