Candidates' Weaknesses
Candidates’ weaknesses as reflected in their works included:
- Lack of Proper Understanding of the Demands of the Questions
Many candidates did not understand the demands of the questions. For instance, most of them resorted to mere mentioning of points instead of giving detailed explanation where required.
Lack of Proper Understanding of the Subject-matter
Many candidates did not understand the specifics of the subject matter which may be as a result of poor coverage of the curriculum.
Violation of Rubrics
Many candidates failed to adhere to the rubrics of the paper and therefore answered all questions from a section while neglecting other sections.
Mixing up of Questions/Improper Arrangement of Answers
Some candidates mixed up questions as some questions that had two parts (a) and (b) were not sequentially answered; at other times they gave answers without indicating the questions being answered.
Cramming of Answers on the Same Page
Allied with the above was the failure of candidates to read the instructions on the answer booklet properly which made some to cram all their answers in either one or two pages. Some candidates even wrote inside both margins of the answer booklets.
Poor Expression
Some of the candidates could not write what the examiners can read. Some could not write simple and correct statement.
Lack of Understanding of Action Verbs
In most of the questions, candidates could not distinguish between action verbs such as mention, state, explain, highlight, outline, describe and so on, hence their inability to tackle the questions appropriately.
Poor Handwriting
Some candidates had poor handwriting, therefore, making it difficult for examiners to decode what they have actually written.
Illogical Presentation of Ideas
Some of the candidates were unable to clearly explain the identified points and arrange them in a logical manner. A good number of them could not communicate their thoughts logically.
Lack of Qualified Teachers
The candidates’ weaknesses could also be traced to the lack of qualified teachers of Civic Education who had good grasp of the substance of the subject. It is observed that candidates were not adequately equipped with necessary information and materials needed to do well in the subject.
Dearth of Standard Textbooks
It was also observed that the poor performance of the candidates in the subject may not be unconnected to shortage of source materials such as good textbooks and teaching aids on the subject.
SUGGESTED REMEDIES TO OVERCOME CANDIDATES’ WEAKNESS
(1) Teachers of this discipline should be well grounded on the topics and issues
involved therein.
(2) Candidates should be encouraged to use proper tenses for clarity of
expressions. They should also be encouraged to work hard for the purpose of knowledge, comprehension and application of the issues in the scheme.
(3) More resource materials should be provided by schools for proper learning
process.
(4) Teachers should take extra-time to teach students on how to interpret questions. Students should be asked to spend the first few minutes to read the questions carefully before attempting to answer the questions.
(5) Efforts should also be intensified by students to develop their usage of
English by reading books, novels, newspapers just to mention a few.
(6) Qualified Civic teachers with B.Sc/Ed in Social Studies, Political Science,
Sociology or related discipline should be engaged. The use of unqualified teachers or people with no requisite knowledge should be discouraged.
(7) Civic Education as a course of study should be introduced in Nigerian
universities and colleges so that teachers of the subject can be trained and retrained for optimum performance.
(8) Students should also be taught the necessary skills, methodologies and
techniques of responding to questions. And, in doing this, orderly presentation of ideas should be emphasized.
(9) Schools should device means to teach Civic Education holistically, not in
piecemeal; the connecting links between and among different civic concepts must be made clear to students for them to appreciate how these are connected to the achievement of the objective of Civic Education in Nigeria.
Students and teachers should take the subject as being very important since it
helps shape life and character morally. Civic Education teachers should also be made to attend seminars and workshops that will expose them to the specifics of the subject.
Candidates should be advised to adhere strictly to rubrics as stated on the
question paper.
Students should be prepared for public examinations through proper tutoring
on the use of answer booklets; informing candidates to answer each question on fresh page.
Efforts should also be made by the students to cover every aspect of the
Syllabus and also be conversant with current trends in the society by listening to news and reading newspapers as well as magazines to widen their knowledge of the subject.
Candidates should be taught the importance of action verbs such as
identify, highlight, state, explain among others. They should give detailed answers where required.