BECE candidates attend science summit

Over the years, Science and Mathematics Clinics have been organised for students, especially girls, to encourage them to study the subjects. 

Speaking at the 2013 edition of Science Summit organised by Educational Innovators of Ghana (EIG) for final-year students of the junior high schools in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region, the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Director of Education, Madam Irene Ayenor, has said teachers need to use a lot of practical demonstrations of the lessons to enable the learners to understand.

'Those of you who fear Science and do not want to go near it, you see that after all it is very easy. You see that with the right kind of learning materials, the subject is very friendly to you and you love it,' she said.

The Science Summit was aimed at generating more interest in the study of Science and build confidence in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates by using practical means of teaching and learning of the subjects.

Madam Ayenor, who is also an examiner for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) said practical aspects of the BECE Science questions equally fetched more marks but students who did not understand the practical questions because they did not treat the subject and the topics in Science practically performed poorly.

'Science is a practical subject and must be treated as such, and any school that has the relevant and appropriate teaching learning materials as we are seeing here would definitely perform well in the examination,' Madam Ayenor emphasised.

She said lack of effective science laboratories in the basic schools for practical demonstration lessons was a contributory factor to the poor performance of students in science subjects in the BECE.

The Municipal Director therefore appealed to the heads of the basic schools in the municipality to convince the parents/guardians at Parent-Teacher Association meetings of the need to contribute towards setting up science laboratories in the schools in order to improve the standard of education in the area.

The Director of EIG, Mr Francis Doku, said though the BECE candidates answer questions that boarder on practicals, schools were not resourced for them to see the real objects in their practical lessons.

He appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to supply the schools with the needed real objects for practical lessons, adding that 'with practical demonstrations of Science, the subject will be friendly to the learners'.

The organisers of the programme, Ms Juliana Maku Baidoo and Nene Ayertey of Kodjonya Millennium Presby JHS and Odumase Presby JHS respectively, testified that the results of candidates who took part in the 2012 Science Summit were far better and encouraged their colleague heads to embrace the programme in their schools.

A student from Odumase Presby JHS, Lillian Terlabi, who spoke on behalf of the participants, said with the practical demonstration lessons they were taken through, Science was not going to be their problem this year and suggested the organisation of the programme yearly in the municipality.  

By Ezekiel E. Sottie