The
Education Ministry has discounted claims that about 400,000 students in second
cycle institutions across the country are riddled with challenges as they
ginger up to write their West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination
(WASSCE) this year.
The
students are reported to be burdened with challenges such as inadequate
examination halls, invigilators and science laboratories for practicals.
The
problem is said to be compounding due to the fact that two batches; the fourth
year and third year streams of students in Senior High Schools, will be writing
the examination which is scheduled for April/May 2013.
But
the Public Affairs Director, Paul Krampah has downplayed the reports, stating
emphatically that the examination halls are adequate to accommodate the
students for the impending WASSCE.
He
revealed that the last four years of the late President Mills’ administration
saw in construction 3000 classrooms to add up to the existing ones, which is a
major boost in the education system.
Speaking
on Okay FM on Wednesday, Mr. Krampah reacting to a revealing Daily Graphic
publication explained that; “over the past four years, 3000 additional
classrooms were provided in all the Senior High Schools throughout the country.
So, now the children are being taught in classrooms. If there’s time for
examination, the classrooms will be used for examination. In the second cycle
institutions, we don’t have special examination halls as we have in tertiary
institutions. So, if they are talking about they are scrambling for space, I
don’t see anything extraordinary about that because they already study in
classrooms and those classrooms can be used as examination halls for the
impending WASSCE Examination.”
The
Kufour administration expanded the duration of SHS from the initial three years
to four years on a premise that the students will have ample time to be
studious in order to churn out excellent teeming SHS students into the various
tertiary institutions in the country.
The
Kufour government believed the four-year programme would boost the performance
of the students but his successor, the late President John Evans Atta Mills
reverted the duration to three years, arguing that the school facilities were
inadequate to accommodate the swarming numbers of the students.
A
Daily Graphic Publication dated February 20, 2013 noted that; “With a few weeks
to the commencement of this year’s West Africa Senior School Certificate
Examination (WASSCE), serious challenges such as inadequate examiniation halls,
invigilators and science laboratories for practicals have been identified.”
It
further revealed that “this year, 409832 candidates will sit the examination
throughout the country, as against the 173,655 who wrote the examination last
year. Some of the schools are wondering how to handle the candidates when they
write core subjects such as English Language, Mathematics, Integrated Science
and Social Studies. The challenge has necessitated the rescheduling of this
year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) from April to June.”
According
to the publication, the schools are calling on the Education Ministry to enable
the first and second-year students to go on holidays in order to get enough
rooms for examination halls.
It
also cited the inadequate number of invigilators for this year’s WASSCE as
another problem the second cycle institutions are grappling with.
However,
the Public Affairs Director of the Ministry says the stakeholders; the National
Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Conference of Heads of Assisted
Secondary Schools (CHASS), have indicated their willingness to invigilate the
examination even though they have requested allowance from the Ministry.
He
told host Kwame Nkrumah “Tikese” that; “There is no cause for alarm because
already over 3000 extra classrooms have been provided by the government. Such
classrooms are adequately enough to be used as examination halls. So, there
shouldn’t be any cause for alarm at all.”
The
Education Ministry will hold a meeting with stakeholders on Thursday, February
21 to address their concerns.
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