Dr. Benette Osei, a lecturer at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) in Mampong, has revealed alarming concerns about the quality of student admissions following widespread malpractice in Ghana’s secondary education system.
Speaking in an interview with Kojo Marfo on AbusuaNkommo, a program aired on Abusua965FM, Dr. Osei shared an eye-opening example to illustrate the deep-rooted problems undermining student competence despite seemingly excellent examination results.
He recounted that last year, AAMUSTED administered an entrance exam to students who had already been admitted based on their aggregate scores. One particular student, who had gained admission with an aggregate of 8 a score ordinarily regarded as excellent, failed even the most basic numeracy section of the entrance exam.
Dr. Osei explained, “I was perplexed when the student with aggregate 8 did not appear on the list of those who passed the entrance exam. When I requested to see the student’s script, it became clear that not a single paper did the student scored 40 or above in that exam. This student, who had only a grade 2 in core Mathematics at the BECE level, was unable to handle basic numeracy problems in the test.”
He went on to emphasize that the widespread cheating practices in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have severely compromised the integrity of Ghana’s education system.
According to Dr. Osei, students who have advanced to tertiary education with aggregate scores ranging from 10 to even 24 often struggle academically.
“The reality is that the WASSCE no longer provides an accurate reflection of a student’s ability because cheating has become endemic,” Dr. Osei stated. “Students now even confront teachers who try to uphold honesty by refusing to allow cheating,” he indicated.
He emphatically stated that some cannot even construct grammatically correct sentences.
“They cannot do basic courses in the first semester; some can’t even construct a complete sentence without mistakes.”
Source: www.kumasimail.com
