GES, WAEC must come clear

The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) for the present crop of candidates is about five months away, but school authourities are worried about whether Religious and Moral Education (RME) will be on offer for the examinations. This is because the major stakeholders in the organisation of the BECE, are already sending conflicting signals about the eligibility of RME as an examinable subject for the forthcoming BECE exams.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has hinted that RME would be part of examinable subjects for next year's BECE. However, the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC), which is the body mandated to conduct the examination, has not given any clear signal as to whether they will examine the candidates in RME.

For an examination which is only five months away, The Chronicle believes that the GES and WAEC should have by now cleared all doubts in the minds of school authourities and the general public, about the impending BECE.

The education of children is paramount to the development of every country, and this is clearly spelt out in Ghana's constitution, where Free, Basic and Compulsory Education (FCUBE) is promised for all who qualify. Examinations form an integral part of education, and is usually seen as the crowning moment for pupils and students, after going through with their studies.

We should not put the BECE candidates under any psychological torture, by making them prepare for an examination that would not be eventually written. We would be toying with the future of the pupils if we allow this issue to fester, before we apply ad hoc solutions at the last moment, when the situation would have gone out of control.

The GES and WAEC must, therefore, come out now to clarify whether RME would be written or not in next year's BECE.

The Chronicle is also concerned about the quick rush by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to introduce Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an examinable subject, when it is clear that there are not enough structures and facilities in place to adequately prepare the pupils.

As the world is moving towards a knowledge-based information society and economy, computer literacy has become a necessity for countries that are desirous to be an essential part of the global village.

Therefore, the government's desire to develop an ICT-driven socio-economic policy for the country is important, and it should start from the basic schools.

However, the unavailability of electricity and computers in some basic schools, does not provide a level playing field for all Ghanaian children to be equally assessed in ICT at the basic level.

The GES must do a gradual introduction of ICT into the basic schools curriculum, through a medium to long term time span. The provision of facilities and computers must be top on the priority list. If the nation pretends to be teaching the pupils ICT, then we should be ready to churn out half-baked computer knowledge graduates.

We shall be mortgaging the future of the country, if we rush BECE candidates, some of whom do not even know how a computer looks like, except to memorise ICT lessons, which they do not understand. A word to the wise…