Government to assess performance of primary pupils

By
Afedzi Abdullah, GNA

Cape Coast, Aug 17,
GNA – As part of measures to transform the educational system in the country,
Government would soon introduce a National Assessment Programme to assess the
performance of primary pupils across the country.

The assessment which
begins next year would see all primary two and four pupils in the country being
assessed annually in mathematics and English to identify their strengths and
weaknesses in the subjects.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum,
Deputy Minister of Education, who revealed this, said, the Curricula was
therefore being reviewed at the basic level to get the requisite data to enable
the Ministry address the weaknesses of pupils in those subjects before it was
“be too late”.

The Deputy Education
Minister said the data would facilitate the right interventions and reforms at
the basic school level rather than waiting for results of the Basic Education
Certificate Examination (BECE) statistics.

Dr Adutwum who was
briefing the second meeting of the Central Regional Co-ordinating Council in
Cape Coast on Thursday, stressed that research data was vital to the nation’s
quest to transform its educational system.

“Over the years, we
have had piloted assessment by private organisations that were not nationwide.
Therefore there is the need for an assessment that will provide adequate and
correct data for the educational sector to provide the necessary
interventions”.

“If we do not have the
right data, our capacity to make decisions to improve learning and teaching
would be limited. The only way to improve our educational system is if we have
the data to do so”, he added.

Dr Adutwum further
mentioned that headteachers who consistently recorded zero per cent at the BECE
would be removed adding that “I will be doing the kids and the nation a
disservice if I continue to keep you there as a heads if students are not
performing”

In this regard, he
said the Ghana Education Service (GES) had been tasked by the Ministry to set
up a management division with supervisory responsibility over heads to check
how schools were run.

He stressed that there
was the need to prepare administrators to head the schools, hence the
introduction of a professional leadership course to train head teachers and teachers
aspiring to be heads.

The training which
would be facilitated by the IEPA would equip teachers and head teachers with
21st century skills of school administration such as leadership, finance and
human resource management.

“Not everybody has to
go into school administration, there would be the necessary training where head
teachers would undergo the necessary course work at the university to enable
them fill the positions”, he stated.

Speaking on the double
track system, Dr Adutwum urged stakeholders to support the system for the
benefit of all.

Mr Kwamena Duncan, the
Central Regional Minister said stakeholder engagement on education had been
held by the regional coordinating council to identify problems of the schools
and to find necessary solutions to them.

He noted that most of
the problems facing the schools were infrastructural which Government was
addressing and admonished Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executive
(MMDCEs) to collaborate with their respective Presiding Members in ensuring the
overall success of their assemblies.

He said the Central
region should be a place that would benefit the youth engaged in profitable
ventures in their communities.

GNA

قالب وردپرس