BADAGRY—THE Universal Basic Education Board, UBEB, yesterday, attributed the mass failure in the last NECO examination to lack of basic textbooks.

UBEB Secretary, Mr Segun Onilude, who was reacting to the mass failure in English Language and Mathematics in the Senior Secondary Schools Examination released by NECO last Monday, said poor reading culture was also responsible for the result.

Onilude said that most teachers and students were too lazy to give or complete homework, noting: “Prelude to the intervention of Governor Babatunde Fashola in Lagos State, for example, only teachers had textbooks in the two subjects and these subjects can not be taught without textbooks. Students need textbooks, so that they could do homework and practice whatever they have been taught in school on getting home.”

The UBEB scribe who stated that teachers in public schools no longer gave class work to students, added that parents, teachers as well as the students, have roles to play to reverse the downward trend.

He said: “In most homes, children who are supposed to be ready for school the next day now spend hours at night watching home videos and crime movies.”

Onilude, however, urged parents to monitor their children’s school work closely, adding that the government should provide more facilities and training programmes for teachers.