Submitted by ACHEAMPONG SAMUEL... on Saturday, 7th May, 2011
Some teachers in the Accra metropolis prior to the exams were against a compulsory ICT exam for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates because that it is just a bomb-shell class, yet the sample questions brought out by WAEC are technical. Adding to that there has been gross inadequacy of computers to teach the students.
While some private schools have ICT facilities for their students, majority of the students who attend public schools have never seen nor even touched a computer. The authorities at the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) are not unaware of the fact that even the schools in Accra and other regional capitals have no facilities for this subject.
In fact, about 90% of teachers in our public schools are illiterates when it comes to ICT. Imparting theoretical knowledge to the children is a huge problem let alone tasking them with practical aspect of the subject. So back to the ultimate question: Is it fair for WAEC and the country to subject these students to the ICT exams?
Location
Forums
Comments
This is an interesting
Yese Bwalya
Tuesday, 13th December, 2011
1. Was it a practical examination?
2. If it was practical then what facilities did schools alleged not having ICT facilities, use for such examinations?
3. If it wasnt practical does it still justify your argument for ICT facilities?
4. Are the results from the said examination out and what do they say/reveal?
In general, examinations are set based on a curriculum and the exmining body which in most cases is an independent organization, doesnt really bother wether the subject is taught or not. That is the responbility of another organization/agency or section of the education system. I dont think a sensible educationist can examine people on subjects that are not part of the curriculum.
What we need to do is to invest a lot of time to understand how the education system operates. Its this kind of knowledge which will help you direct your questions/concerns.
The fact that education system in virtually every society, especially Africa, is the most problematic area, goes to show how this sector is less understood. Yet this is the sector that employes some of the best brains. I am yet to see a sector with such concentration of Professors and Phd holders as the education sector.
Nonetheless, its great to read about this story and the beautiful reasoning behind it. Keep it up guys.
ICT Exams in Ghanaian Schools
Agbenyo John Stephen
Thursday, 15th March, 2012
Your questions are most interesting. The ICT Exams that were set were not practical. They were theoretical. So, one then could say that there is really no basis for arguing for infrastructure. The point however is that that is not the way we should go. There is a very dangerous but very common phenomenon in the Ghanaian educational system where people go to school just because of the certification. And so, all that is done is for the student to "Chew, pass and forget". As a result of this, we now have several thousands of graduates who finish school with very good grades and yet when they are faced with the practical part of what they supposedly had learnt while they were in school, they are unable to perform.
We cannot afford to bring this kind of mentality into the study of ICT. If we do, we will end up becoming just consumers and not inventing anything. This is the reason why myself and many others are of the view that ICT should be made a very practical subject in our schools and the only way to do this is by the deployment of hardware to the schools.
Is is justified for Junior High students in Ghana to write ICT a
ACHEAMPONG SAMUEL...
Thursday, 12th May, 2011
Say It Again
Abdul - Rashid Imoro
Thursday, 12th May, 2011
Hi Sam,
It's a pitty that the Ghanaian student is the one who would be at the lossing end. You can imagine the plight of a student in the interior part of the northern region as he or she struggles to write the computer science paper.
In one of my visit to one of the Savana Signatures ICT club in Savelugu, some of the club members were not happy that the subject was going to be made examinable. When I asked to know why, they said their school for instance was not connected to electricity and that their ICT lessons have often been theorotical and they did not see how they could pass the subject without practice.
It's rather unfortunate that policy makers have to put innocent students through this frustration.
There is the need therefore for stake holders in education to provide the necessary equipments needed at all schools so as to make the ICT education in Ghana a reality.