The re-elected governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, in his inauguration speech, made some claims about progress in the state’s educational sector. We fact-checked his claims and they were far from the truth.
Boasting about progress achieved in terms of candidates sitting for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) in the state, Mohammed said: “It is gratifying to note that our reform measures in education are hitting the right target. As WAEC records show, Bauchi State recorded a remarkable increase in the percentage of candidates with five credits and above from 37.4 per cent in 2019 when we took the mantle of leadership, to 65.5 per cent and 68 per cent in 2020 and 2021 respectively.”
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Also, the governor claimed that number of out-of-school children in the state reduced by three million from 2018 till date.
“As a result of our commitment to tackling the scourge of out-of-school children, we are able to qualify and access the technical and financial support of the World Bank through the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), which has assisted us in reducing the number of the out-of-school children from 1.7M in 2018 to the current 1.4M,” he claimed.
“With the help of the community leaders and traditional leaders, we will continue to work towards improving enrolment, retention and completion in our schools,” the governor added. “It cannot be overemphasized that this is a collective effort that requires all hands on deck as we strive to lay a solid foundation for the future.”
VERIFICATION
WikkiTimes fact-checked the governor’s claims using existing data and reliable media reports.
The governor pegged the progress his state made in WAEC in 2019 at 37.4 per cent, 65.5 per cent in 2020 and 68 per cent in the subsequent year. But he was not accurate as data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disagreed with him.
The data showed that in 2019, Bauchi has 82.85 per cent in WAEC performance for public and private schools in the state. In the 2019 examination, 8,357 students got five credits and above [including English and Mathematics]. This includes 4,827 male and 3,530 female candidates in public schools. In private schools, there were 2,521 male and 2,008 female candidates.
The following year, Bauchi State’s WAEC performance decreased by 19.87 per cent where 1,559 male and 1,491 female candidates [from public schools] scored five credits and above including English and Mathematics. Their counterparts in private schools performed a little better as 1,695 and 1,412 got the five credits and above. Although, females in public schools outperformed their counterparts in the other schools.
However, 2021 was incredible as Bauchi State got more than 100 per cent. This time around, candidates from public schools performed higher better than those from private schools. Over 4,000 male candidates [from public schools] outperformed their 3,036 peers from private schools. The females were not left behind — 3,504 from public schools were atop 2,560 candidates from private schools.
WHAT ABOUT OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN?
Just like the governor cheated data about three years’ WAEC performance of his state, he also did the same about out-of-school children.
He claimed that there was a three million reduction from the “1.7 million” out-of-school children the state “had” in 2018.
In 2018, Pernille Ironside, Deputy Representative in Nigeria for United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), said there were 1.1 million out-of-school children in Bauchi State. This, according to the official was part of the 69 per cent out-of-school children located in the northern part of the country.
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An NBS survey in 2018 revealed that there were 60.7 per cent (primary level) and 64.2 per cent (secondary level) of out-of-school children in Bauchi. An infographic analysis of the survey done by StatiSence, a private data hub in Nigeria, further showed that Bauchi has about 1.2 million out-of-school children.
Meanwhile, a recent infographic analysis by StatiSense [showing 10 key socio-economic indicators] pegged the figure of out-of-school children in Bauchi State at 1.37 million. These children range from six to 15 years of age.
VERDICT
Claims made by Bauchi State governor, Mohammed in terms of three years’ WAEC performance of the state as well as out-of-school children are inaccurate.
