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| SHS Students |
Ghanafuo.com contributor, Offei-Akoto Ayeh has put his spin on the recent poor performance in the WASSCE results.
Ayeh wrote:
Let us face it, understaffing in the various second cycle institutions should be blamed for the abysmal performance in our Senior High Schools.
The argument of reintroducing the four years and blaming teachers for the poor performance, to me does not do us any good and will not do us any good in the coming years.
Teachers in most Senior High School I know in some parts of Northern Ghana teach about six classes each. Now these teachers at the end of the day are fatigue ridden and cannot give out their best to the students.
An example is myself. I did my national service with a big school in the Upper East Region and as a service personnel, I taught five classes when my experience in teaching was just a short attachment at my auntie ‘ s nursery.
Yes! I won’t say I did bad but the issue here is, as a service personnel it custom that I be made a teaching assistance or be given just a class to build my level but if that had happened, some teachers would have had to teach eight classes.
Teachers with this workload find difficulty in testing students because their number are unbearable and the number of classes is just tiring and frustrating to mark.
The understaffing has compelled schools to force teachers to teach subjects which they are not trained at. Some teachers teach some subjects because they may have come into contact with it one way or the other in the University. Without full hold over these subjects, they teach them.
With all these, what will be the impact on the students? If your Economics teacher did a major in Geography and minored in Economics.
Let us forget the raging debate of introducing the four years educational system and tackle the issue from its root.
