The Eastern Regional Parent-Teacher Association Chairman, Rev. Joshua Terkpenor, has asked parents to accept part of the blame for the poor performance of candidates in the Basic Education Certificate Examination.
He stated that although finding solutions to the challenge and that of the Computerised School Placement System will require collective effort, parents and guardians must accept that they have a crucial role in ensuring their children perform better in their examinations.
Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he noted that some parents create unnecessary difficulties, particularly during the school selection process. He explained that some parents insist on their children attending specific elite schools even when they know the grades achieved make admission into those institutions impossible.
“The school selection process has also become a challenge. Part of the problem is from the parents. Let us accept that. Someone is aware the child wants to attend Aburi Girls or Wesley Grammar but will go ahead and select different schools on grounds that they will wait for the results to be released so that when the children perform better, they go and change it. Others want their children to attend only Category A schools and not B or C or D. What is the criterion in categorising the schools? If there are challenges in B and the other categories, making them not fit to be in the A category, let us solve them and rate them at the same level as the A. If possible, we should remove the categories and ensure that all the schools are at the same level so that wherever you get as a school, you will not reject it but attend,” he said.
Rev. Terkpenor also called on officials at the West African Examinations Council and other stakeholders to educate the public on the mechanics of the grading system and what constitutes the performance of candidates. This, he noted, would help parents and their wards understand and accept the examination outcomes without confusion.
“We do not know the technicalities used for the marking, and so we will admonish WAEC, the Examination Council, to provide us with the details of how the exams are marked and grading generated so parents and other stakeholders will have an understanding of the systems. When this is done and the results are released and the candidates underperform, parents will accept it, or if the marking was poorly done, the needed steps would be taken to correct them,” he added.
He lamented that these challenges have persisted for far too long, stressing that it is time permanent solutions are deployed to address them once and for all.
Rev. Terkpenor emphasised that parents must act responsibly by investing adequately in their wards to enable them to achieve the academic performance expected of them.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana