LAGOS, Nigeria – Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, has lamented that 26,592 public school students in the state failed the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The revelation by the Commissioner, which was made public during the yearly ministerial press briefing on Thursday, in Alausa, Ikeja, showed that 45.7% of the 58,188 students from public schools, who sat for the exams, did not pass.
This sad development comes despite the state government’s significant financial backing, in which the sum of ₦1.577 billion was paid on behalf of the students to cover WAEC fees.
“Suffice to say that the sum of ₦1,577,794,000 (One Billion, Five Hundred and Seventy-Seven Million, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Four Thousand Naira) only was paid by the State Government as examination fees for 58,188 students who were captured for year 2024 WASSCE,” he said.
Alli-Balogun stressed that in a bid to tighten accountability and avoid wastage, biometric and image registration was carried out to accurately determine eligible students for government sponsorship, for the 2025 WASSCE.
“The exercise successfully captured and registered 56,134 students as bona-fide beneficiaries of the Lagos State Government’s sponsorship for the examination,” he added.
However, the Lagos State Government rolled out a bold educational intervention – the Eko Learners’ Support Programme for WASSCE and NECO Candidates – aimed at reversing the tide of academic failure in the state’s public schools.
Launched on January 14, 2025, the initiative is part of a broader commitment by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to equip Lagos students with tools for success.
“This forward-thinking initiative was designed to support and empower young scholars in attestation of the Ministry’s commitment at advancing interest and management of the educational system in Lagos State,” Alli-Balogun stated.
He said with a vision to broadcast 320 lessons across 10 key subjects, including English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Government, History, Literature-in-English, and Yoruba, the programme aims to bring world-class tutoring directly into students’ homes.
The commissioner said each 30-minute episode would air on Lagos Television (LTV), and be archived across major platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), creating a digital learning library accessible to every student.
“It is a supportive eco-system that fosters academic achievement, creativity, critical thinking… every student deserves the opportunity to attain their full potential, regardless of their background or socio-economic status,” the Commissioner declared passionately.
Alli-Balogun urged students, especially those in boarding schools, to seize this opportunity.
“It is on this note that I urge and encourage students’, more importantly, students in our boarding schools, to take full advantage of this initiative, as education is a lifelong journey,” he said.
