SSSCE WILL GO ON AS PLANNED - WAEC

Wednesday, June 8, 2005

The NAGRAT strike has put a cloud of uncertainty over this year's Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) which starts on July 4.

Five weeks into the strike by NAGRAT members, there has not been any major breakthrough between the striking teachers and the Ghana Education Service (GES), although a number of bodies have offered to mediate.

However, sources at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), said the council had not received any directive from the GES for the postponement of the examination and, therefore, it would commence as scheduled.

A visit to the WAEC Head Office showed that the necessary arrangements were going on for the upcoming SSSCE .

WAEC officials were seen busily preparing to dispatch the question papers to the various regional depots for distribution to the examination centres.

It would be recalled that this batch of senior secondary school finalists had to re-write the Basic Education Certificate Examination in 2002 when the examination was cancelled as a result of a widespread leak of questions.

In an interview, the acting Director-General of the GES, Mr Michael Kenneth Nsowah, also confirmed that all was set for the examination and that it would go on as scheduled, without any hindrance.

He sympathised with the plight of the candidates, but advised them not to panic, since intensive deliberations were going on to resolve the NAGRAT impasse.

Asked how the practicals would be conducted, since the teachers were on strike, he explained that it was the responsibility of the various heads of departments to ensure that the necessary specimens and apparatuses were provided to enable the candidates to take their practicals.

“Actually, the heads of the various departments like Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Agriculture are not supposed to be part of the strike. This means they will be around to make sure the practicals go on successfully,” he explained.

Mr Nsowah, who just returned from a tour of the Ashanti Region last weekend to find out how the candidates were coping in the various schools, said the situation was not as bad as it was being speculated.

Meanwhile, a tour of some schools in Accra by the Junior Graphic revealed that a number of the candidates were either studying in groups or doing so individually.

At Accra High School, one of the candidates, Master Isaac Antwi Boasiako, said although they had finished with their mock examinations, they still needed their teachers to help them complete some important topics.

He was of the view that the strike would affect their performance in the SSSCE if the teachers did not return to the classroom early.

Another candidate of the school, Miss Fidelia Ocansey, said the strike had affected her a lot because there were certain subjects in which she needed help, but there was no teacher around to help her .

For instance, she explained, they had not finished their Geography syllabus.

She, therefore, appealed to the government to grant the request of the teachers so that they could return to the classroom.

At St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, where some of the candidates were found in the classrooms discussing their notes, Master Louis Ocran appealed to WAEC to make the marking scheme for this year flexible so that students would not be adversely affected.

He said they had not finished revising most of their subjects and, therefore, they would be grateful if the teachers returned to the classroom to finish the work with them.

Master Dennis Sowah of the same school also appealed to the NAGRAT leadership to convince the striking teachers to go back to the classroom, since their action would only affect the students .

Junior Graphic's interactions with the heads of the schools visited revealed that most of the schools had already written the mock examination.

They were left with follow-up discussions on the papers with their teachers to help them to identify their weakness and correct their mistakes when the strike started.

On arrangements put in place towards the examination, the Assistant Headmaster of Accra High School, Mr Aaron K. Badzi, said the school had appealed to students from the University College of Education, Winneba, who were currently doing their teaching practice there to assist the candidates.

He said it had also advised the students to form study groups so that they could help one another.

At Aquinas, the Headmaster, Mr Frank Bebli, said he had met with his staff members and had appealed to them to help the candidates.

He had also met with the students and encouraged them to study on their own and prepare for the examination.