President Mahama has attributed the recent, alarming WASSCE results to a chronic neglect of basic education.
Speaking at the National Launch of STEMBox for Basic Schools on Thursday, the president noted that the poor performance is a national concern, revealing that he has instructed the education minister to urgently analyse the examiners’ report to fish out what could have gone wrong.
“I was speaking with the minister, and I’ve asked him to do an analysis of the examiner’s report to try and decipher what could have gone so disastrously wrong,” he said.
“It is mind-boggling that with the same teachers, the same factors in play, just from one batch to another, one batch does so disastrously. And so we need to get to the bottom of it.”
He emphasised that the crisis underscores deep, foundational weaknesses.
“One of the major things that has taken place in the last several years is the neglect of basic education,” he stated, pointing to failures in funding and teacher quality at that critical level.
He observed that without a solid foundation, the system simply pushes children through a conveyor belt like a factory only for them to fail “quality control” at the end.
He stressed that every child must master basic reading, writing, and arithmetic in primary school to be prepared for secondary education, lamenting that some currently finish basic school unable to even write their own names.
“If we are able to get our children to get these three things right—writing, reading, and arithmetic—then they have the foundation to continue into secondary education.”
While affirming that strict exam invigilation will remain, President Mahama concluded that urgent reforms will be enacted once the examiner’s report is reviewed, to ensure children are well prepared to pass their exams.
