Review policy on BECE resit

30-01-08
Page 11

ABOUT 160,000 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates nationwide failed to qualify for placement into senior high schools (SHSs) and technical institutes last year. Some of the candidates made the aggregate 30 mark, but they could not be placed because they did not meet the requirements for placement into senior high schools and technical institutes.
Under the requirements for qualification and placement into SHSs or technical institutes, a candidate was expected to score not more than grade five in the four core subjects: English, Science, Mathematics and Social Studies. In addition, candidates were not supposed to score more than grade six in any other two subjects.
By the current system of re-sit at the basic educational level, a student has only two chances. Candidates are required to first re-write all the subjects they wrote and this should be done at the basic school they attended.
With the present competition for selection into SHSs, the current system of re-sit at the basic level would have to be looked at again and reviewed. This review, should have been part of the educational reform which kicked off in September last year. Today, thousands of candidates cannot re-sit the BECE due to the present system. They need to be given the opportunity like their counterparts at the secondary level.
Re-writing all the papers at the BECE level is discouraging and quite a task. Assuming a candidate scored seven and eight in English and Mathematics and scored one or two each in the rest of the subjects, it meant that with the current system s/he would have to re-write all the papers to qualify for placement.
The candidate must be made to re-write the subjects ( English and Mathematics) s/he did not do well in. After all, s/he needs to score not more than grade five in the two subjects to qualify for placement into the senior high school or technical institute of his/her choice.
On the issue of re-sitting or re-writing in one’s former school, this too needs to be changed. With the continuous assessment records of BECE candidates at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), they should be made to re-write wherever they find themselves. A candidate should not be made to suffer unduly by travelling from one part of the country to another to re-write an examination. A family may decide to relocate to another area to survive, and so a child from such a family who did not do well in the BECE should be allowed to re-write the examination in any basic school in the locality the family may move to.
Although the BECE is both terminal and continuous, no impediments should be put in the way of those who want to continue to the SHS or technical institute. As young as BECE candidates are, they should not be made to stop schooling prematurely. It is time to look at the issue of re-writing or re-sitting the BECE again, since the competition for computer placement into SHSs and technical institutes is very keen.
As the Akans say, “Obiara nnim obrempon ahyease”; to wit, no one knows the beginning of a great person. Let’s create an enabling environment by having a level playing field for all those who were not able to pass their examination the first time to re-write. I’m sure some of the about 60,000 candidates who could not qualify for placement last year would love to re-sit the examination, but cannot do so under the current system.
The government pays part of the BECE registration of all candidates and reviewing the current system of re-sit would prevent a waste of money. The time to act is now. I am confident that the Education Ministry, the GES and other authorities will give this a critical look.