Nigerian secondary school graduates are not adequately prepared for their transition into the tertiary studies because of the absence of the Advanced Level (A-level) programs.
'Most secondary school graduates not ready for tertiary education'
An educationist has called for the immediate re-introduction of the A-level in order to ensure than students are prepared education for higher academic pursuits.
The Managing Director of Ladder Steps College (LSC), a sixth form college in Lagos, Akin Akinola, urged the immediate re-introduction of the A-level in order to prepare students for higher education.
Akinola told The Guardian that the A-level, scrapped from the Nigerian educational system in the 1980s, must be urgently re-introduced.
“Part of the problem with the Nigerian education system is that our students are not properly prepared for higher academic pursuits," he said.
"I remember vividly in the 1980s, A-level was adequate for preparing students for higher education."
He said students who passed through the A-level programs like University Foundation Programme (UFP), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) among others offered by his organisation, showed better academic excellence in the university system.
"Most of the students that went through the A-levels then were better off than students who just jumped straight to the university.
"The programme actually prepares students and exposes them to the challenges of higher education.
"University education requires students to understand what is expected of them and A-level programme is excellent in that regard.”
The educationist noted that the A-levels are compulsory for students who wish to study abroad.
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