Teacher Absenteeism Identified As Major Cause Of BECE Failures

The Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Education, Dr George Adjei-Henne, has attributed the mass failure at Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the country to teacher absenteeism.

He said within a period of three years (2009-2011), about 500,000 out of a total of 1.1million candidates failed the BECE nationwide.

This situation, he said, was worrisome and needed to be addressed with all seriousness.

Dr Adjei-Henne, who expressed this concern at the fourth matriculation ceremony of the St Ambrose College of Education at Dormaa Akwamu in the Dormaa East District, noted that teacher absenteeism, if quantified in monetary terms, amounted to seven per cent lost of the total national income, according to a World Bank Report of 2011.

In all, 207 students matriculated to pursue Diploma in Basic Education for the 2012/2013 academic year.

Dr Adjei-Henne added that in the World Bank Report of 2011, Ghana, Morroco, Tunisia and Brazil were compared in the number of days each utilised in teaching in a period and Ghana scored the least of 76/140.

“It is, therefore, not surprising that within a period of three years (2009-2011), about 500,000 out of a total of 1.1million candidates failed the BECE nationwide. This situation is indeed worrisome and needs to be addressed with all seriousness”, he stressed.

Touching on examination malpractices, Dr Adjei-Henne noted that the practice had become a social canker in our educational delivery, adding that last year (2011), the Brong Ahafo Region topped the list of schools that were engaged in examination malpractices in the whole country.

He said out of the 30 schools that were involved in examination malpractices, nine were from the region, saying this is unacceptable and it is an unenviable achievement.

Dr Adjei-Henne commended the Catholic Church for establishing the St Ambrose College of Education to trained more qualified teachers to help reduce the huge teacher deficit faced by the country.

“By this step, the church is contributing in no small way towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 2 that is achieving universal primary education by the year 2015”, he said.

He said in 2010, the percentage of untrained teachers at the primary level was 59.4 per cent, while at the Kindergarten level, it was as high as 63 per cent and therefore the move by the Catholic Church is a step in the right direction to trained more qualified teachers to meet the huge teacher deficit in the country.

Most Rev. Gyamfi, the Catholic Bishop of Sunyani under whose auspices the college was established, said the college was set up by the Sunyani Diocese to help trained qualified teachers to serve in deprived communities were most trained teachers have refused postings.

He urged the students to study hard to justify the investment being made in them by their parents.

Rev. Fr. Alexander Agyepong, the outgoing principal of the college, for his part, said apart from the 222 students who have passed out from the pioneering class, the student population of the college now stood at 665 and urged the fresh students to study hard to emulate the example of the pioneering students who recorded 100 per cent passes in the final examination.

The ceremony was also used to induct into office Reverend Father George Kyeremeh and Mr George Djan as the new principal and vice principal for the college respectively by the Catholic Bishop of Sunyani Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi.