By Ogunbowale, Tolulope Sobiye
The joy of every parent is to see their children move to the next class. Children look forward to new uniforms, books and teachers, while parents celebrate promotion. But what happens when a child moves forward without understanding the lessons taught in the previous class? Are we celebrating progress, or simply carrying a problem into another classroom?
Academic promotion is an important part of education, but it should not become the main determinant of success. A student’s progress should reflect learning, not merely the passage of time. When children are promoted without mastering simple and essential skills, they may struggle with more complex work and lose confidence in the process.
In some Nigerian schools, weak-performing students are promoted because parents insist, teachers feel sorry for them, or school management fears complaints and declining enrolment. These concerns may be understandable, but they should never outweigh a child’s educational needs. Moving a learner to another class without addressing the difficulty does not make that difficulty disappear.
Consider a Primary Three pupil who cannot read simple sentences or solve basic addition problems. In Primary Four, the child may struggle to understand instructions, complete assignments and follow lessons. As the gap widens, frustration can grow. The pupil may become withdrawn, misbehave or conclude that learning is simply too difficult. Promotion without preparation can therefore postpone a problem rather than solve it.
What, then, should schools do?
First, teachers should find out why a student is struggling. Poor performance does not always mean laziness or a lack of interest. A child may have missed lessons, face challenges at home, experience emotional distress or have health issue. A complicated teaching approach could also be a reason. Discussing with the pupil and parents, observing classroom participation and reviewing past work can help reveal what is going wrong.
Second, schools should provide extra support before making a promotion decision. Remedial lessons, small-group teaching and individual attention can help children practise difficult skills. For example, a teacher can organise short reading sessions for pupils who struggle with fluency. Bottle tops, sticks or counters can make basic Mathematics easier to understand. Sometimes, children do not need more pressure; they need a clearer explanation and more opportunities to practise.
Parents also have a role to play. They should check the notes, encourage them to do homeworks, encourage regular reading and communicate with teachers when necessary. Waiting until results are released before asking questions may be too late. When families and schools work together, a child is more likely to receive consistent support both at school and at home.
Schools should also monitor progress through continuous assessment rather than relying on one examination. Classwork, assignments, oral responses, practical activities and regular tests can show whether a learner is improving. Teachers should record these observations and discuss concerns with the school management early enough for action to be taken.
Nevertheless, promotion should not be automatic. If a student has not mastered essential skills despite suitable support, repeating the class may be considered in line with school policy. The decision must be made carefully, with the child’s emotional well-being in mind. Repeating a class should never be used to shame or punish a learner; it should offer another chance to build a stronger foundation.
In all, schools must not label struggling children as failures. Children learn at different rates, and poor results today do not determine what they can achieve tomorrow. They need honest assessment, patience and practical help, not humiliation or neglect.
The purpose of education is not simply to move children from one class to another. It is to equip them with knowledge, confidence and skills for life. Let us measure success not only by how many students are promoted or how high their scores are but by how much they have learnt. A child who advances without understanding may be a class ahead, yet remain behind in knowledge.
