Grade 'D' and 'E' should not be glorified by teachers – Education Minister

The Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has entreated heads and teachers of senior high schools (SHS), to adequately prepare students to enable them to obtain good grades.

According to the minister, grades ‘D’ and ‘E’ should not be considered as pass grades but rather as a fail mark.

Dr. Prempeh said, no university in the country would admit any student with such grades hence the improvement in teaching and learning.

The minister was speaking at the 2017 Ghana Education Evidence summit held in Accra, aimed at improving quality education and learning in the country.

The programme was on the theme, ‘Using evidence for impact in teacher education.’

Dr. Prempeh urged students to strive in the pursuit of academic excellence and become professionals that the country needed.

“I want every SHS student to meet the required grade of tertiary institution and become a person the nation will be proud of,” he said.

He attributed the poor performance of students to inadequate guidelines teachers give to them adding that “teaching is evidence-based and the reflection of that evidence is the examination result”.

To ensure better performance of students, he suggested that, teachers should increase the time that they spend with students.

Dr. Prempeh stated that they should not only focus on the subject knowledge but emphasise the pedagogy to make sure each student understands the lessons being taught.

He stressed the need for teachers to create more interactive, pupil-centered approach to teaching as it was the key to learning.

The National Programme Manager of Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL), Mr. Akwasi Addae-Boahene in an interview with the Ghanaian Times bemoaned that lack of evidence demonstrated in teaching has retarded the progress of learning.

He said teachers should observe and assess the lessons that they teach to ensure students and pupils make enough progress in their performance.

“Teachers have to assess and see whether there is enough reflection, evidence and impact of the lessons they teach their students,” he stressed.