Assembly discusses decline in performance of students
The Ga East Municipal Assembly is seeking answers from the Municipal Education Directorate on what might have accounted for the sharp decline in the performance of the students in the municipality in the 2013 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
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Ranking
The municipality placed third in 2012 at the national ranking in the BECE, but slipped to 26th in 2013, a situation the assembly described as unacceptable.
Consequently, the assembly is considering setting up a committee to meet the education directorate in the municipality to find out what led to the sharp decline in performance of the municipality in the BECE.
Speaking in an interview, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Kwao Sackey, said the assembly was “shocked about the development. We don’t know what went wrong for the district to move from the third position to the 26th position.”
He said members of the committee would be looking at whether it was the issue of absenteeism or poor supervision that might have accounted for the “poor show”.
Performance
Briefing members of the general assembly Mr Sackey said in all, 6,932 candidates were presented for the examination,“and only 144 had aggregate six with 70.60 per cent obtaining between aggregate six and 30”.
“This performance is far below the average compared to our pervious ranking of number three position in the 2012 BECE and years back. I want to direct the Municipal Director of Education to ensure that all the subject co-ordinators work to ensure the achievement of a higher score this year,” he stressed.
Supervision
Mr Sackey stressed the need for the education directorate to encourage and monitor the teachers to apply the best teaching methodology in the classrooms, adding, “We must ensure effective supervision in the schools and keep a check on absenteeism on the part of the teachers”.
“There is also the need to strengthen the oversight role of the GES on the private schools to ensure that they do not only prepare the children for examination but for quality and improved education,” he added.
SMCs
Mr Sackey also urged the directorate to educate the school management committees (SMCs) to put in place measures to ensure that they worked towards a holistic education delivery in the municipality.
Community SHSs
He announced that the Ga East Municipality was one of the beneficiaries of the first 50 of the community day senior high schools to be constructed by the President this year, adding that a four-acre land had been secured at Kwabenya for the project.
Mr Sackey said the Minister of Education had already visited the project site and realised that “the land was not big enough for the project and that we need about seven acres of land”, and hinted that management was discussing with the land owners to increase the acres for the project.
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