A quest for better result at the WASSCE level

E. Ablorh-Odjidja

August 31, 2014

Time was when a failure in English completely sank your chances for the “O” level certificate.  Years later, the WASSCE is not that critical, so implied a statement from our illustrious Minister for Education in response to a charge by Nana Akufo-Addo about the systemic failures shown in the 2014 results.

In a robust response to the media, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, the Education Minister, played down Nana Addo's charge.

Nana Addo is quoted in a media publication "7 out of the 10 children have failed the WASSCE and cannot get access to tertiary institutions. What this means is that after taken (sic) them through kindergarten, primary school, junior high and senior high, these kids end up with no certificate."

The "no certificate" implied an attack on the educational policies of the current NDC government.  These policies, he suggested, had led to the  potential diminishment of life's chances for the 2014 candidates.

Of course, it has to be noted that Nana Addo was the presidential candidate of the opposition party, the NPP, in the 2012 elections and his statement could be political. 

Responding immediately to refute Nana Addo’s claim the honorable minister of education for the NDC government, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang denied that there was any noteworthy failures as described by Nana Addo..

The minister's response also can be considered political.  But there is a point to the purpose of education other than the political that must cause us to worry about her response.  And this must be to pay attention to our educational policy outcomes.

From a point when a failure in the English subject alone sank completely your chances at “O” level, we have come to a place in time when a failure in the same subject, out of a salad choice of six others, will not.

Of the 2014 WASCCE results, the honorable minister said unequivocally  “72% did not fail…… The 72% we are talking about are students who got less than six credits…Of course it is not a fail.”

Agreed.  The "72%" had less than six credits in their results. 

The grading system starts from A1 which is excellent (80% - 100% score of the total marking points) and runs downward through B2 (Very Good),  B3 (Good) C4, C5 to C6 (Credit/acceptable). 

C6 is a score of 50% of the total marking points.  A collection of C6 in six required subjects will certify a candidate for admission into a tertiary institution. Even at this low rate, only "28.1" of the total candidates were successful in this category. 

The logic of the minister seems to be that at the individual subject level, the candidates did not fail.  By the way, the “fail” points start at 40% and downward to zero.  Any effort above the 40% mark for each subject is a pass.  These candidate, therefore, could not be described as having failed the WASSCE exam!

But does the honorable minister desire this result as necessary for nation building?

It seems the minister was either content with or protective of the result.  For nowhere in her response did she express the wish for policies that may improve  the "28.1%" rate , nor did she even lament the need to do so.

She came to the defense with “ The minimum pass mark in the WASSCE is a credit in six subjects including English language, Mathematics, Integrated Science and Social Studies.”  But she never wished the "28.1%" certified for tertiary admission to be higher. 

Rather, the minister was emphatic that the candidates met the matrix for success.

Nana Addo’s claim was that the candidates in 2014 did not meet his desired expectation nor should it meet the nation's;  this  large group who had aspired over long period of time to obtain the minimum requirement for tertiary institution admission didn't. 

We also ought to feel disappointed for them and us because the "28.1%" success rate is too low an expectation, given our developmental needs.

Clearly, the minister did not seem to mind.  Her objective, it seems, was to obfuscate the matter so as to protect her government from blame.  

Note the following:

“This year” she said  “37,985 candidates scored above C6 representing 28.10% of the total number of 242,162 candidates who sat for the exams.”

A flat acknowledgement after reading the above is that “above C6” is not the same as “met the minimum mark of C6.”  Or is it?

If so, then a number of successful candidates are missing.   They are those who “met the pass mark”  at C6 and not "above" it.  Add this missing lot to the total and we might get a better result than  the published "28.1%" result.  Should we be happy?

But wait, we live in a global world so we must worry about competition. 

In 2012, The  Inside Higher ED web site wrote that Xinhua, the China's news agency, reported 75%  for students who took the "gaokao" (their version of the WASSCE)  exams  were certified for colleges and  universities admissions in China.

For Ghana, those who “met the minimum” admission requirement were “28.1%” as against 75% in China, the country of choice for our construction engineers, project managers and tooth pick manufacturers!

The above emphatic percentage comparison must lead us to conclude that  the  "28.1" success rate the minister is lauding is deficient for our nation's needs.  It is a woeful achievement, which must leave us to fall in sympathy with Nana Akufo-Addo’s observation.

But the honorable minister was not done.  For her "the 28.1% “is a marked improvement in what was recorded in 2013 which saw 48,000 representing 19.15% of the 409,711 candidates who took part in the WASSCE last year obtaining credit in six subjects.” 

A groan of more woe for us!

Presumably,  she was happy with the 2014 WASSCE result. The  yardstick was met.  The requirement for both 2013 and 2014 was to obtain credit in six given subjects.  And the 2014 result was better than the 2013 one.

If we wonder whether the thrust of  her statement was meant to obfuscate matters, perhaps the clue is what jumps off the page in her next statement.

Her only acknowledged concern for the results was that “3.70% failed or didn't get C6” in all subjects."  We already know that "72% did not get C6.  in all subjects!  Still, the concession is baffling but it is what has prompted her outfit to investigate the matter in order to reduce this failure rate. 

But why must she bother if the failure rate was only “3.70%” of the result?  According to her matrix she should still have more than 96% of the total candidates who did not fail, unless confusing the public matters to her office! 

There is something more to worry about in our educational system.  We will bring you our comment on the honorable minister's proposal  for not using English to teach at basic grade level in our schools. 

E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Publsiher www.ghanadot.com, Washington, DC, August 31, 2014

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