JUST IN: Ghana to revert to May/June WASSCE- Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa announces
JUST IN: Ghana to revert to May/June WASSCE- Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa announces
Ghana will resume taking the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in May/June 2024, according to Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
He noted that Ghana was now undergoing a progressive recovery learning program based on classroom contact hours.
“We hope that by 2024, we will have reached the same level as the other member countries.”
“That is why we stated this year’s calendar was a transitional calendar.” “We’re returning to our previous schedule, when we start school in September/October and finish in June/July the following year,” he revealed in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
Schedule
Prof. Opoku-Amankwa stated that WASSCE participants would take the exam this year from August 1 to September 27, 2022, but that “for 2023, we plan to take the exam a bit sooner than this year, most likely in July/August.”
This year’s WASSCE will be written entirely by Ghanaians.
This is because the other four West African Examinations Council (WAEC) member countries — Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia — have reverted to the May/June calendar this year and administered the WASSCE for their school applicants from May 9 to June 24.
Permission
According to the GES Director-General, Ghana argued that switching to the May/June timetable immediately would disadvantage the applicants “since they would not have satisfied the 1,134 contact hours.”
“So we filed a case to WAEC, the problem was discussed at the international level, and they decided that we write our test separately from the others,” he stated.
“However, just as the May/June and November/December examinations are both standardised, with the same award systems and processes, so is our August/September WASSCE an international WASSCE examination, with the only difference being that the period when it is written differs from that of the other countries.”
“We feel that our stress on contact hours has been a big factor to our kids’ achievement in the WASSCE thus far since we ensure that they get the most out of it.” They used to do roughly 1,080 contact hours per year, but now they do 1,134, which we feel has contributed to their success,” he stated.
Advantage
Prof. Opoku-Amankwa stated that the advantage of a Ghana-only WASSCE would be that the issue of cross-country rogue website operations would be irrelevant.
“What we discovered in the past with those fake websites was that, while we attempted to start the papers as soon as possible, because to time variations, certain nations may start somewhat sooner than others, and some of those rogue website operators took advantage of that,” he stated.
He assured that the GES and WAEC, in collaboration with security agencies, would enhance security at testing centers and online to guarantee that the exam was written in a safe environment.
Advice to Candidates
Prof. Opoku-Amankwa reminded WASSCE applicants that their success was dependent on their level of preparation, noting that they had been in school for three years and had gone through the process of passing the test.
“We anticipate that they have spent sufficient time studying and are confident in what they have learned.” As a result, students may write the exam and pass it on their own, without relying on anyone, any source, or any other methods,” he stated.
He also advised instructors, supervisors, and invigilators to follow the norms and regulations so that they did not become engaged in any test misconduct.
