Sack teachers who collude with students during exam – CSOs

Stakeholders in education have called for a withdrawal of licence and outright dismissal of teachers who collude with students to cheat during examinations.

They also called for the decoupling of teachers from the conduct of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the deployment of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras at examination centres.

The over 50 education stakeholders also called for strengthened external supervision of the WASSCE, including the use of religious bodies and civil society organisations (CSOs).

“All persons cited by WAEC for illegal activities around WASSCE 2023 should be prosecuted with outcomes published,” the stakeholders recommended after a forum to review the education sector.

Support  

“The support of the Office of the Attorney-General and the Ghana Police Service is crucial to achieving successful WASSCE 2023 prosecutions,” they added.

Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), the Institute for Education Studies (IFEST) and over 50 civil society stakeholders in education participated in the annual education sector review forum to evaluate the performance of the education sector for 2023 and recommend priority strategies for this year.

The stakeholders expressed concern about the escalation in examination room collusion as expressed by WAEC during the WASSCE 2023, adding that: “While we acknowledge the gains made by the Ministry of Education in curbing question leakages by involving the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) in providing security for the printing of questions, we lament the weak and ineffective prosecution of suspects and sanctions for teachers and other public officers found to have colluded with candidates”.

Colleges

On the status of colleges of education (CoEs), the CSOs said they were fast becoming a museum of abandoned projects and that the most recent addition to a tall list of abandoned projects was the 300-bed hostels which the government promised to complete in August 2023 in all 45 colleges at the cost of GH¢480 million.

By the end of 2023, the civil society stakeholders said work was ongoing in only three colleges, with the remaining stalled due to the lack of funding.

The lack of funds, they said, continued to stall infrastructural projects in the colleges to accommodate the four-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) students.

That had led to the imposition of admission quotas in the colleges, reducing intake by over 6,000 students, the stakeholders added.

“This is an unfortunate case of unprioritised spending, especially when the government has over the last seven years invested about GH¢1 billion in teacher trainees’ allowance amid a student loan scheme for tertiary students.

“Stakeholders call on the government to complete all stalled infrastructure projects in CoEs and remove the 30 per cent admission cuts before the 2024/25 academic year.

The government must encourage CoE students to access student loans to free resources for infrastructural development in the colleges,” they said.

On the Ghana Teacher Licensure, they said it was an important quality assurance intervention in 2023, ensuring that only highly qualified Ghanaians entered the classroom to teach and called for its further improvement.

WASSCE

The CSOs said as of 2022, only 39 per cent of WASSCE candidates were progressing to the tertiary level in the ensuing academic year, suggesting that up to 250,000 secondary school graduates did not make it to tertiary institutions annually.

They said while that was consistent with historical trends, the 50 per cent increase in second cycle enrolment because of the Free SHS policy made the situation dire, with negative consequences for youth unemployment.

Ahead of the elections in 2024, they said political parties should align their manifestos to the Education Strategic Plan 2018-2030 to ensure continuity towards achieving the education and other Sustainable Development Goals.

“In 2024, civil society stakeholders renew their commitment to continue working with the government to support the implementation of plans and policies in the education sector while demanding accountability for policy implementation and outcomes.

Stakeholders must encourage the Ministry of Education to deepen civil society engagement on policies and their outcomes,” the CSOs said.

Textbooks

The supply of about 65 per cent of textbooks to primary schools, the stakeholders said, was welcome and that in 2024 efforts must be made by the Ministry of Education to procure and distribute the remaining 35 per cent of core textbooks required in primary schools.

“Junior high schools have been without textbooks since the new curriculum was introduced in 2021.

Efforts must be made by the Ministry of Education to provide textbooks for junior high schools in 2024.

The full budgetary allocation to the Capitation Grant for 2024, the coalition said, was welcome news after years of under-funding.

However, it said weak accountability systems at the school level could pose a threat to spending efficiency.

“The Ghana Education Service should increase school-level accountability in the management of the Capitation Grant.

Additionally, the Ministry of Finance must make efforts to disburse the Grant fully and timely,” they recommended.