End-of-year examination results involving the Baccalauréat and General Certificate of Education Boards recently released show a general stable trend.

Even if the Baccalauréat Board complains of a drop in the success rate from 57.14 percent in 2015 to 52.72 percent this year, one must note that the number of those who passed the examination has risen from just 90 000 last year to nearly 105 000 this year.

This means that the number of certificate holders is on the rise, something which strictly speaking, hides the general objective of having as many of successful candidates as possible pass the examination. Moreover, the overall attitude has been to see some centres which did badly in previous years improving on their performance whiles those which did well in the past either stagnated or, because of some kind of self-confidence, lost their hold on their previous performances.

One good example which illustrates hard work is the South-West Region which was the overall best nationwide and which occupied the ninth position in 2015! One could even attribute the drop in the national performance to the devastating influence of the Boko Haram sect in the Far-North Region which has obstructed the normal functioning of schools.

The best news came from the examinations organized by the General Certificate of Education Board which recorded an overall pass rate of 61.94 percent in all the five examinations for which candidates sat with the A-level at the peak with a 66.52 percent pass rate, one of the best in recent years. Records made available by the Board indicate that candidates in mission schools performed best, followed by those in government institutions. This probably explains that it takes seriousness in the teaching process and the quality of teaching staff to obtain good results.

Even if the best or qualified teachers are not to be found in mission or voluntary agency schools, there is dedication on the part of teachers and a high degree of discipline required from the students, close academic follow-up and even self-emulation on the part of the students. What students of government institutions miss in this mission schools setting is compensated by the high quality of teaching staff who are generally graduates and very well-paid civil servants.

The results trend is very indicative of the fact that our system is on a good footing because it is easy to know where to go for good results, although, unfortunately not everyone has the means either to send a child to a mission school or find space in a public institution.