SECTION C: SUMMARY
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it. You are advised to spend about 40 minutes on this section.
The campaign for the education of the girl-child appears to have achieved outstanding success. Many parents were once known to be indifferent to the education of the girl-child. But now, it is boys who appear to have become less serious with their studies. This calls for a determined effort to save the boy-child’s education from further decline and avoid possible unpleasant consequences for both genders and the society.
It has been observed that more girls than boys now enrol for secondary and tertiary education than was the case forty years ago. Today, the population of boys and girls in classrooms is either equal or the girls outnumber the boys. The trend appears to be that after obtaining the first degree, they work to raise enough money to get married. On the other hand, their female counterparts often proceed to higher degrees while waiting to get married. This is one of the reasons why more females register for postgraduate programmes in various disciplines.
In addition, it appears that female students now perform better in academics than males. They are often more on the list of the best students in a class, just as more girls obtain first-class honours than boys in the universities. At a dinner for new dental surgeons in a prominent university, the guest lecturer asked the male students to stand up for recognition. Two men stood up; the other nineteen surgeons were female!
More girls seem to show greater commitment to education by staying to learn during school hours, unlike a good number of boys who absent themselves from school for all manner of reasons. They attend parties when lessons are on, and hide in various locations to commit cybercrime or engage in other nefarious activities. Therefore, boys have higher cases of truancy, resulting in a decline in their academic performance.
Certain consequences may result from this present situation. Most top positions in public and private establishments might eventually be occupied by women who have the required academic qualifications. Companies and industrious are in constant patronage and will engage only the topmost brains with the necessary experience to occupy leadership positions. Thus, most female graduates and award-winners will qualify for these positions over men.
The effect will most likely be felt in homes where women are married to men who have lower academic qualifications. When rich senior school certificate holders are husbands of graduates or PhD holders, misunderstandings and conflicts are bound to occur. The wives are likely to view issues from a broader perspective, while their husbands may consider their opinions as confrontational. Peace and harmony may become elusive in such homes.
Nevertheless, the development so far should make women very proud. But with more women as managers and policymakers, the downside is that there may be instances when women will use their higher number in positions of authority to formulate policies that will favour them and possibly dominate the males.
In conclusion, while the campaign for the educational progress of women should be sustained, efforts should be intensified to arrest the current decline of interest of young men in education. Abundant benefits await society if there is a balance in the educational attainment of both genders.
(a) In three sentences, one for each, summarise three indicators of the decline in the education of males according to the passage.
(b) In three sentences, one for each, summarise three likely consequences of the decline in the education of males according to the passage.
Explanation
(a) The following are indicators of the decline in the education of males, according to the passage:
- More girls than boys now enrol for secondary and tertiary education and the number of girls in classrooms often surpasses that of boys.
- Female students generally perform better academically than their male counterparts.
- Boys exhibit higher cases of truancy, frequently skipping school to attend parties or engage in cybercrime.
(b) The following are likely consequences of the decline in the education of males:
- More leadership positions in public and private establishments may be occupied by women.
- Marital conflicts may arise in homes where highly educated women are married to men with lower academic qualifications.
- Women in managerial and policymaking positions may formulate policies that favour them.