Impact of Lagos Eko Secondary Education Project on Academic Performance of Students in West Africa Senior School Certificate Examinations

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of the Lagos Eko Secondary Education Project (LESEP) on the average academic performance of students in the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Agege Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State, Nigeria. Convincing evidence was required that showed the WASSCE results of students in Pre-LESEP period differed significantly from the WASSCE results of students in Post-LESEP period in the three core subjects of Mathematics, English, and Biology. Simple random sampling techniques were used in this study. Any student who had written WASSCE within Agege LGA was a potential respondent. Six schools were selected from among the public secondary schools existing in Agege LGA. The WASSCE results and summary of the results were collected personally from the schools with the assistance of the Vice Principals. The data was carefully studied and checked for any omission. The analysis of the data was carried out using simple percentages and R software package which is publicly available and free. All the hypotheses were tested at 5% level of significance. The results show that the students’ average academic performances in the core subjects are significantly better in Post-LESEP than in Pre-LESEP. Also students’ performance in WASSCE rose from 7% in 2007 to 39% in 2012. In light of this significant achievement, it was recommended that Lagos Eko Project Training Programmes be extended beyond the core subjects. Teacher training must be continuous and on a regular basis for all teachers not just core subject teachers. When other teachers are given the opportunity to go through the same type of training, it should improve the overall performance of the students.