Abolish cert-based education - Educationist

Educationist Anis Haffar has suggested an overhaul of Ghana’s education system, ensuring a shift from over reliance on award of certificates to one engendering skills development.

This follows the examination leakage scandal at this year’s ongoing West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) involving four papers.

The Oral English, Integrated Science, Social Studies, and Physics papers were available to some candidates on the eve of the exams.

The leaked papers have also been circulating on social media and this has raised concerns over the credibility of officials working with the exam body, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

The exam-conducting body has, however, indicated that the papers that have been written already will not be cancelled.

Mr Haffar, who spoke in an interview with Class News on Wednesday April 6, believes the current system does not equip the children for what they will face outside the classroom and the desperation to just pass and acquire a paper certificate may have resulted in the leakages.

“What we are doing is that we are directing everyone to go and get a certificate but the focus should not just be on the certificate but skill development as a result of schooling,” he advised.

“We have a linear type of education in this country where we assume that we can do the best for our children by taking them through the lower primary, upper primary, junior high school, senior high school, university level and, at the end of it, give them a paper certificate.

“What is missing is that they have not developed skills that they can use [in real life situations] so when this crisis comes, one of the things we have to consider is that when a person sits in a classroom for about sixteen years copying material from a textbook unto a chalk board, memorising them for exams, they ‘chew’, ‘pour’ and pass. How long is Ghana going to continue doing that?” he questioned.

According to him, Ghana needs to learn from other developed countries where students are trained to enhance their natural skills beyond holding a paper certificate that holds no value to them.

“What are we doing with these theories [that are taught in schools]? they are almost useless and people are carrying certificates that have no value to them and do not even know what to do with it,” he lamented.

He said leaders are victimising children by not thinking into the future to add value to the lives of young ones as they grow.