WASSCE Results: WAEC should accept its share of the blame!

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• MARCUS AMPADU 9 years ago

  Why is our education system still tethered to WAEC? Somebody needs to explain.
  We must "deWAEC" ASAP.
  
  It feels like we are strapped to WAEC by taking annually the WASSCE. Ghana should have its own nationwide examination b ...
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  Why is our education system still tethered to WAEC? Somebody needs to explain.
  We must "deWAEC" ASAP.
  
  It feels like we are strapped to WAEC by taking annually the WASSCE. Ghana should have its own nationwide examination based on curricula that are tailored to our national needs.

  reply
• Solomon Tony Adams 9 years ago

  thanks alot Dr. for saying it all...It is the main aim of WAEC that students trail for them to make money by resitting again in the Nov/Dec exams.

  thanks alot Dr. for saying it all...It is the main aim of WAEC that students trail for them to make money by resitting again in the Nov/Dec exams.

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• Kobena 9 years ago

  Excellent piece, Yaw,
  Important issue as it is, it will be a miracle if more than a handful of readers read and comment on the piece.
  
  The problem goes all the way up to our tertiary institutions. Students don’t care abo ...
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  Excellent piece, Yaw,
  Important issue as it is, it will be a miracle if more than a handful of readers read and comment on the piece.
  
  The problem goes all the way up to our tertiary institutions. Students don’t care about the content of what they are taught, parents are not bothered about what their wards “take home” from the education system and the state does not give a damn. In fact, I suspect strongly that certain sections of our political class want it that way for electoral purposes. As long as the people remain illiterate, they can feed them with half truths, pure lies and cock and bull inventions and get elected with offers of crumbs from their tables at election time.
  
  It has to do with the general rot in Ghanaian society. If you go back to the 1960s and 70s, the West African Examination Council used to issue comprehensive reports on all examinations, including re-sits, subject by subject. It detailed reasons for award of certain grades and why candidates missed salient parts of certain questions. The current mediocre reports are all symptomatic of a failed education system within a failed society, where anything goes.
  
  It used to be that the first marathon meeting of the ‘secondary school staff meeting’ was all dedicated to the “Examinations Results and the Chief Examiner’s Report”, but as you rightly point out, there is no depth to that report for any meaningful discussion anymore! I have made corrections in MPhil examination papers (equations, constants, etc), as external examiner that were never corrected, and so the poor students struggled with the questions on the day of the examination.
  
  Our education system is a big mess, and it shows in the fact that most decent universities around the world do not wish to have anything to do with the products of our schools and universities! It shows in our political discourse, on national radio and television and in the national newspapers. We need a concerted effort to fix it, otherwise Ghana is doomed!

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• Mark (UK) 9 years ago

  Thanks Dr Ohemeng for you contribution here. You raise good points here.
  I wonder what you are asking WAEC to do is just a fraction of the isssue at stake, namely poor results shown in the last WAEC exams.
  What do you make ...
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  Thanks Dr Ohemeng for you contribution here. You raise good points here.
  I wonder what you are asking WAEC to do is just a fraction of the isssue at stake, namely poor results shown in the last WAEC exams.
  What do you make of this, that other factors contribute to the poor showing.
  There is no debating the fact that parents play a role in guiding and assisting their wards whilst taking part in this important activity.In order to get to the bottom of this poor academic showing, one needs to get them involved. An instance, will you agree with me that due to poor academic infrastrcture, it is advisable to get wards in boarding schools. If parents are not able to take their children to boarding schools, then this can affect their academic performance. Other factors are important too. Standards of teaching, motivation of pupils themselves and the provisions made towards improving educational standards by the government will help the improve academic performance in general.
  Whereas I think you have made a good contribution, I think one need to look at other factors too. A case in point. When standards fall in the UK for example, you don#t see accusing fingers being pointed at the Exam boards, but a holistic soul-searching with a view to finding the root cayses.

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• Kobena 9 years ago

  Mark,
  You raise a good question. In the UK, the Education Secretary or people in his/her department would have apologised for such horrible results and someone would have resigned or been fired. Remember Michael Gove? His re ...
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  Mark,
  You raise a good question. In the UK, the Education Secretary or people in his/her department would have apologised for such horrible results and someone would have resigned or been fired. Remember Michael Gove? His reforms are actually bearing positive fruits.
  
  In Ghana, the clueless minister says, "Ghana's Education system is one of the best in Africa!" Case closed. Nobody is calling for heads to roll or even public enquiry or apology. Next year it will be the same.
  
  The 28% that passed must be made up of 90% of the 20% that attend the "preparatory schools." I can bet my bottom penny that 90% of the failures came from the rural areas and the "saito" schools in the cities and towns. In short, the education system is consistently failing about 80% of the children of Ghana, and that is the tragedy of our failed political system and apathy of parents and the rest of society.

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• ebo smith 9 years ago

  everything in our system is wickedness, poor waec

  everything in our system is wickedness, poor waec

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