Review wholesale admission into SHS, says retired GES director
The retired GES director explained that some students who gain admission to second cycle schools with poor grades from the basic education certificate examination seem compelled to further their formal education
The immediate past retired Upper East regional director of Ghana Education Service (GES), Edward Kwaku Azure, has bemoaned that the wholesale admission of students into second cycle schools is a major contributory factor to the recent abysmal academic performance and growing indiscipline in schools.
He said, “We are not performing very well not only because we are not working so hard, but sometimes national policies are a contributory factor. There are certain policies that are not helping education at all and need a second look, especially the wholesale admission into senior high schools.”
The retired director was speaking at a send-off party organised for him in Bolgatanga by his successor.
Azure, who is a trained teacher, was head of the regional directorate from August 2020 until his retirement in November 2022.
He explained that some students who gain admission to second cycle schools with poor grades from the basic education certificate examination seem compelled to further their formal education.
“Some students go on to senior high school because they are forced to. They know that if they get eight in all the subjects, they are qualified to go to the senior high school. They go there to cause all sorts of problems in the schools.
“This is why we have a lot of problems in our second cycle schools,” he said.
This, notwithstanding, Azure noted that negative attitudes from major stakeholders – education administrators, teachers, parents, traditional authorities, community members and students – also contribute to the poor performance in schools.
He cited instances where final year students who have been registered for examinations neglect their studies and work in illegal mining, in the hope that they will be allowed to cheat during the examinations.
The retired GES director bemoaned that such attitudes need serious redress. He urged teachers to take refresher trainings seriously to enhance their skills with modern teaching techniques.
Azure’s successor, Bright Lawoe, commended him for his contribution towards improving educational standards in the region.
Lawoe described Azure as one who practised participatory leadership with an unflinching commitment to work. He stated that the directorate is undergoing reforms to address the challenges with education in the region.
He said his outfit, in collaboration with the regional coordinating council, will soon organise an educational fair to bring major stakeholders in education together to deliberate measures to address the falling standard of education in the region.
The North East regional director of GES, Simon Amokase, who represented all regional directors of education across the country, urged stakeholders to play a crucial role in improving educational standards nationwide.
A retired educationist, Paul Apanga, encouraged teacher unions to take keen interest in the ongoing conversation about the mass failure of teachers who sat for the teacher licensure examination.
He bemoaned that some of those “teachers” had not completed training in the colleges of education, thus the need for a distinction to avoid misleading the public.
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