Amid calls for a return to the four-year Senior High School system following the release of the recent West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, President John Dramani Mahama has jumped to the defense of the current system.
According to him, the “call for a return to 4yr SHS is uncalled for” as statistics show that students have performed better in the 3-year system.
[contextly_sidebar id=”remtgP7EHqeZJkjJzFvKjXIejjos9ceC”]The President’s official Twitter account tweeted a graph on Friday morning indicating better performances after the country reverted to the 3-year system.
The NPP administration under then President John Kufuor started the 4-year Senior High School programme in 2007.
However, the NDC reverted to the 3-year system after they regained power in 2009.
The call for a return to 4yr SHS is uncalled for. 3yrs SHS is doing far better as evidenced in the graph. pic.twitter.com/h7hmxHdAMz
— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) August 12, 2016
Despite the argument by the President, the graph he tweeted appears to have contradicted his claim.
It shows that the two examinations following the introduction of the 4-year system, saw 26% and 31.2% – which is the highest since 2006 – of the candidates got grades between A1 and C6.
The following year, which saw two year groups sit for the WASSCE saw a drop to 19.2%.
However, following a full reversion to the 3-year system, there was a rise in the pass rate to 28.1 percent.
The next two years saw a drop to 20.2%, and then a rise to 24.7% respectively, both lower than the results obtained in the 4-year era.
WASSCE results worrying
This year’s WASSCE results have led to days of public debate as they show that the candidates struggled in Maths and Science
A total of 274,262 candidates participated in the 2016 exams, and according to WAEC, a total of 125,065 students obtained A1 to C6 in English Language, which is 53.19%, 59,725 (25.40%) obtained D7-E8 whilst 46,595 (19.82%) had F9. For Mathematics, 77,108 (32.83%) obtained A1-C6; 65,007 (27.68%) obtained D7-E8 whilst 89,477 (38.10%) had F9.
About 113,933 students obtained A1-C6 in Integrated Science which is 48.48%, 75,938 (32.32%) obtained D7-E8 whilst 42,519 (18.09%) had F9.
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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana