A consultant with True Teachers Organisations (TTO), Mrs. Violet Ubah, says children should be allowed to progress through all classes, rather than skipping some.
Ubah stated this in an interview in Lagos on Friday, in reaction to the skipping of classes by some pupils in the foundation stage of their academics.
She said that passing through the normal progression of classes helped boost their chances of academic excellence.
According to her, the standard has been made clear by the government that the country operates the 6-3-3-4 system of education, except in some courses in tertiary institutions that require an additional year.
“The system obtainable in our country is six years in primary school, (that is primary 1 to 6), three years in junior, three years in senior secondary school, and four years in a tertiary institution.
“It is rather unfortunate that some parents encourage their children in Primary 4 to write entrance examinations into secondary schools and they deny them the opportunity of passing through Primary 5 and 6.
“This affects such students’ general performances as they will be struggling to cover gaps of topics in missed classes and challenges in catching up with the scheme of work in the secondary school.
“The early and foundational stage of a child’s education is very fundamental, so there should be a level playing ground for them to progress and get the quality education they require,” she said.
The educationist identified being ‘child-centered against teacher-centered as part of measures to make learning easy in nursery schools, advising secondary school management to also engage students with low performances in extra classes.
“Teachers in the nursery section should have plans for the week by taking each child from what they don’t know to what they need to know, and with love; that is, simply coming down to their level.
“The services of guidance and counseling unit will also come in handy for students with low performances in the secondary, as they might be having personal challenges from the home that is affecting them,” she said.
Meanwhile, she called on the management of schools, particularly the private ones, to make entrance examinations to secondary classes standard, as part of measures to ascertain the qualifications of the pupils and their ability to cope.
