The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has hit back at former President John Mahama, over his lack of integrity claim about the recent WASSCE results.
According to President Akufo-Addo, the position of Mahama with regards to the WASSCE results was a misguided sentiment.
Speaking at the 187th speech and prize-giving day of the Wesley Girls Senior High School on Saturday, February 10, 2024 in Cape Coast, the same region Mahama made the claim, President Akufo-Addo insisted that the opposition leader questioned the integrity of the WASSCE results without basis.
“It is a pity, though, that the sad nature of aspects of contemporary Ghanaian politics drove some otherwise allegedly responsible people, including a former president and perennial presidential candidate [of the NDC], to question the integrity of the results happily without any foundation and to attribute these results to cheating.
“Students of Wesley Girls High School, do you cheat in examinations? I’m sure this loud no will send a strong message to those who expressed these unfortunate, misguided sentiments.”
EXPANSION AND QUALITY
Regardless of what the President said were the consistent criticisms by naysayers about the policy, today the free SHS has increased enrollment from 800,000 when he assumed office to 1.4 million in 2023.
He also said that the expansion in the various Senior High school enrolments goes hand in hand with improved quality.
“The WASSCE results of the students I proudly call the ‘Akufo-Addo graduates’ have shown that the quality of education has not deteriorated, but on the contrary, it has improved significantly,” he remarked.
The results of the ‘Akufo-Addo graduates’ in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the President noted, are the only years in the past decade that showed that more than 50% of the candidates obtained A1 to C6 in all core subjects.
CHEATING CLAIM
The flag bearer of the NDC, during his visit to the Central Region in December 2023, claimed that the exams undertaken by the students were characterised by malpractices.
The former president alleged that some invigilators, instead of ensuring candidates did independent work, aided students in answering the questions.
“In many places, they let the children cheat. You go to places, and the teachers are conniving with the students to cheat. The effect will be seen later,” John Mahama averred.
He said the implications of the development will hit the nation sooner or later.
“You certify these children, saying they are of this standard, either the BECE or SSCE, and that child will use that certificate, go abroad to a school, and they will find out that your qualification is not up to the standard you say it is,” he indicated.
Mahama’s allegations followed an announcement by the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, that the 2023 WASSCE results were the best the nation has recorded since 2015.
In a statement released on Friday, December 29, the Ministry of Education debunked the assertion by Mahama.
The statement further assured students, parents, guardians, and the public that the integrity of education and examinations, including the WASSCE, remains uncompromised.
The Ministry labelled Mahama’s comments as a “calculated attempt to downplay the great strides made by the Ministry in improving learning outcomes in the country.”
PROGRESS
The Ministry highlighted the substantial progress witnessed in WASSCE results over the years. It mentioned what it said was a significant improvement from a 28.7 percent score (A1-C6) in Integrated Science in 2015 to an impressive 66.80 percent achieved by candidates in 2023.
The ministry attributed the progress to the efforts of various stakeholders to enhance the quality of education.
“We have made monumental progress, and over the past few years, WAEC has instituted several measures to curb exam malpractices during the BECE and WASSCE test administration.”
Reiterating its commitment to maintaining high standards in education, the Ministry assured stakeholders that the quality of education and examinations would not be compromised,” the release said.
Meanwhile, both the NPP and NDC candidates have promises about the free Senior High school programme ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.
Whereas Mahama said he will review it, Dr. Bawumia has announced he will continue and improve upon it.
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