BISMILLAHI...
Poor
Planning/Preparation: Many students usually fail to prepare for
their test and examination properly. They always like the fire brigade
approach, trying to patch things up in the last minute. If you ask them why,
they will be quick to defend themselves, telling you that it is not a big deal.
It is very common to hear reckless responses like this, because most of them
are ignorant of the content and structure examination. They usually think that
the knowledge they have acquired over the years in the normal classroom
teachings of their various schools is enough to help them succeed without
revising to their learning materials. Little wonder, students in this category
fumble and end up failing the exam.
Faulty/Weak
Background in English Language Learning/Studies:
Many Nigerian students do not have strong and solid foundation the rudiments of
English language because English language is not our native language (mother
tongue) in Nigeria. Therefore, there is a high possibility that, such a weak
background will reflect on the student’s performance. Students, who do not know
the fundamentals of English Language usually have limited ability to
understand, analyze and connect information.
Incoherent
English Language Communication Skills:
A large number of Nigerian students usually experience difficulties in
expressing themselves in English; they are most times unable to convey their
personal ideas clearly and coherently in verbal/spoken English. When they
speak, they do so with great difficulty and there are usually lots of
noticeable distortions in their statements and sentences. They also have
difficulty in understanding lectures and conversations in English that involve
abstract or complex ideas and recognizing the relationship between those ideas.
Poor
Writing Skills and Punctuations Problems:
These problems occur/appear in the writings of many students. A large number of
them cannot compose impressive and informative essays. They also have problems
with common punctuation marks; not knowing how and when to apply paragraphs,
commas, quotation marks, question marks, capital letters and full-stops. The
examiners are easily discouraged and turned off when they come across badly
punctuated essays; sometimes even the hand writing is rough and unclear. It’s
like you driving a rickety car on a bumpy road; it is usually an unpleasant
experience.
Bad Management of Examination Time: Many Nigerian students do not give
the right priority to time management in all their activities and engagements.
This bad time management syndrome goes on to affect their use of time during
the examination. Examination is time bounded, so examination takers who are not
conscious of this may not be able to finish within the allotted time.
Unnecessary slowness can be a great hindrance to scoring high in the
examination.
Carelessness
and Nonchalant Attitude of Students:
Most examination takers do not plan their examination day seriously. Experience
has shown that fixing a major appointment for this day can be
counter-productive. Lateness to the center more often than not, jeopardizes
chances of scoring high in the examination. Student should please create enough
time to arrive early at the examination center. Most students who get to the
centers after the reporting time/check-in time usually have difficulties
settling down for their exams. Some even go to the centers without the appropriate/acceptable
identification documents.
Examination
Phobia Caused by Sad Tales and Ugly Experiences of Previous Examination:
Many students have been fed overtime with scary stories by some lazy students.
They are told of how tough and tasking examination can be and these unpleasant
stories are registered in the minds and brains of the students at any level.
The implication of this is that students become disoriented towards the
examination and this will negatively affect their performance on the
examination day.
Refusal
to attend a Coaching/Training Class: It
is never enough for students to prepare for exam alone. Experience over the
years has shown that students who attend coaching/training classes perform
better than their counterparts who studied on their own. Experience they say is
the best teacher, why not create time to get tutelage from tutors who can help
you develop intellectually and succeed. Though we must give credit to some
self-trained students, who went through serious personal study drills to
develop themselves and ended up scoring high in their examination.
Inability
of Students to deal thoroughly with past Exam/Test failure Experiences:
Students who failed at one standardized test at some points in their lives are
likely to think low of themselves when they are required to write another
standardized test. Many students have failed to learn from their past failures
and this continues to affect their performance in future test/exam.
Ignorance:
Some Nigerian students fail their examination/test because they are ignorant.
They are oblivious of vital information that abounds all around them because
they fail to make exhaustive and extensive research about the test they intend
sitting for. There are also various preparation/study materials available for
free on the internet, rather than take advantage of this, they prefer to waste
their time on chatting and browsing through social networks/websites.
Lack
of Willingness/Enthusiasm to Succeed in the Examination:
For some students, the willingness and zeal required to strive for success in
their examinations is missing. This could be caused by sickness, family issues,
poverty, indecisions, emotional stress and many more, as much as this could be
understandable, and managed appropriately students will have no much
difficulties in passing their examination.
Over-confidence:
Though this might not look like a real problem, the truth is, it has caused the
failure of several intelligent students in their academic pursuit. Some
students approach their examination in an egocentric manner; some feel too
important about themselves that they find it difficult to obey simple
examination instructions/rules. Some even gloat or boast unreasonably about
their skills/abilities before the actual examination. Over-confidence in
students is not encouraged rather self-confidence is the key to success. As a student
of Mass Communication, I recommend that students should consider the above
points seriously so that they can prepare well for their exams/test to achieve
high success. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Best of LUCK!!!
ALHAMDULILLAH
