The inadequacies in the performance of candidates were attributed to the following weaknesses:
- poor expression;inability to interpret correctly the demands of test items framed with some key words such as: explain; define; describe;
- inability to differentiate between diffusion and osmosis;
- lack of the skill to represent information graphically and interpret graphs;
- lack of competence to describe experimental procedure satisfactorily;
- inability to state precautions taken to ensure accuracy in the experiment;
- failure to use appropriate concepts of physics to explain observations in everyday life;
- poor handling of arithmetical calculations.
The suggested remedies were as following:
- Re-training of teachers should be organized by State Ministries of Education in collaboration with WAEC;
- Efforts should be made by teachers to emphasize understanding of basic principles and their applications;
- Schools should put in more effort into the teaching of mathematics so as to improve the students’ computational skill;
- Teachers should make greater effort to ensure adequate coverage of the syllabus;
- School principals should monitor coverage of the syllabus by handling the “weekly diary” more purposefully;
- Class room instructions should be related to the students’ environment.
- The teaching of Physics should be practical-based.