From failure, I’m now good in mathematics – Kano farmer

On completion of his senior secondary school education in 2008, Yahuza like any of his colleagues sat for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) but his dreaded subject, mathematics weighed him down as he couldn’t make credit in it.  Committed to actualise his dream of becoming a medic al doctor, he wrote the examination again […]

On completion of his senior secondary school education in 2008, Yahuza like any of his colleagues sat for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) but his dreaded subject, mathematics weighed him down as he couldn’t make credit in it.  
Committed to actualise his dream of becoming a medic al doctor, he wrote the examination again in 2009 but fortune was not by his side as he failed mathematics and other calculation related subjects.
His inability to make it made his father to force him into becoming a fulltime farmer, closing the curtain on his dream. Since then he has been following his father to farm and his dedication to the trade has further enhance the annual farm produce of their family.
 “In the two sittings of my SSCE I got four credits, Hausa, Islamic Studies, Biology and Geography, the rest are passes. My ambition is to become a medical doctor in order to assist the people of my community in the area of healthcare service. The failure in mathematics is the bridge between me and my dream,” he said.
After farming for five years, then comes an opportunity for Yahuza to rectify his deficiency, courtesy of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE). Early this year, the official of the directorate went to the local government headquarters scouting for students who failed their SSCE for their Graduate Coaching Scheme (GCS).
Yahuza was among the first set of students that were recommended for the programme following his commitment to western education. Under the programme, the students are coached for three months in order to rectify their deficiencies.
The programme commenced at the LEA Bichi in March this year and at the end of the training, Yahuza is now a proud mathematician. Following his outstanding performance, Yahuza is the monitor of his class.
 “Now with Allah by my side, through this programme I will make the required five credits in order to move to the next level academically. Before now I see mathematics as a magic but with this three months coaching I have become a magician in the subject, glory be to God and the NDE for initiating the programme which is taking me close to my dream,” he said joyfully.
But another challenge is now before Yahuza as he said his younger ones are now in senior secondary schools and that their father cannot shoulder the responsibility of funding their education alongside his in view of his small income.
 “Thank to Allah I’m now a mathematician but who will fund my studies?  This is the new challenge before me,” he said.
Like him Bashir Adam, 21 also sat for SSCE twice but from the two sittings he was only able to have four credits Biology, Agriculture, Islam Religion Knowledge (IRK) and Hausa Language.
 “I wrote WAEC twice, one in 2012 and the last one was in 2013. No money to pay for SSCE registration fee again because my parents have done that twice.  I’m feeling happy now with this training because my understanding of mathematics, physics, chemistry and English has been enhanced,” he said.
One of their teachers at the Bichi centre, Ibrahim Hamza identified fear and lack of practice as the bane of mass failure in mathematics.
Hamza who studied mathematics at the Bayero University Kano (BUK) in 2013, said the three months special coaching has widen the horizon of the students about mathematics that hitherto they are seeing as no-go-area.    
 “We started teaching them from elementary level and afterward we moved to higher level and now we are teaching them how to answer SSCE questions. To God be the glory, if they sit for the exam today, they will pass,” he said.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of the programme the Director General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mallam Abubakar Mohammed said the programme was conceived to give the students who failed their SSCE a second chance.
Under the programme, he said they are giving secondary school students who failed their papers a second chance to make the required five credits in order to gain admission into higher institutions.
He said they are also using the programme to engage qualified teachers who are unemployed in across the country.  
“Whereas large numbers of students are failing senior secondary school examination, we have a lot of qualified teachers roaming the streets across the country. We are now mobilising the qualified teachers to coach the students who had failed their SSCE examination,” he said.
In the first phase of the programme, he said they have 75 percent success with over 20,000 students participating. He said his directorate through the programme is salvaging the national investment in the education sector by giving the students a second chance and that they are not trying to take over the job of the ministry of education.
He urged local government chairmen in the state to come to the rescue of the students by paying the WAEC and NECO fees of the students.
 “For those of you that are from Kano state just struggle to pass your SSCE, I know your state government is committed to human capacity development as it has demonstrated by its scholarship programme for thousands of students abroad.
 “If you join the labour market as secondary school dropout, it would be very bad for you because nobody can assist you but if you step up by going to higher institution, it is better for you and the society,” he told the students.