How Will Canceling 2020 WASSCE and BECE Affect Students?
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Believe it or not, canceling 2020 WASSCE and BECE examinations can be a relief for both teachers and students but not in all cases especially when the future of the learners’ education and career hinges on it and the teacher job security is hanging in the air.
Many schools and nations including Ghana are scrambling to put their curriculums online and finish out the school year, but with 2020 WASSCE and BECE canceled or postponed, how have our teachers been more creative in the way they teach students now and going forward?
For both students and teachers, there’s no pressure to prepare, do well on the tests, and receive a score that could determine careers and futures now, but the future of both is uncertain.
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Less Class Time
Teachers spend a lot of class time reviewing exam questions. Now, they’re at home, and really not contributing to education. For those who have innovated to teach via WhatsApp for instance, there’s more time for discussions, questions, off-topic questions, and even self-directed activities students can do at home. It doesn’t matter what subject we’re talking about here, no test prep means more time for students to read a book they like, learn about the science of viruses and this pandemic, or complete a math project that actually has ties to the real world. But, with the nation’s straight jacket GL TV approach, teachers cannot do all the above. The inability of teachers to connect with students worsens the plight of learners.
Learning Happens When Students Aren’t Stressed
There are hundreds of online resources and videos out there on GL TV, iCompus, and the likes that teachers want to use, but usually, don’t have time and internet resources to be of help.
Where they have, who pays for it? And how about the many students who do not have access to phones and the internet? With standardized tests out of the way, teachers can finally dust these resources off and have students explore the fun side of learning. If you think back to your learning days, it wasn’t the rote memorization work that got you excited; it was the labs and interactive activities.
2020 WASSCE and BECE candidates are stressed up combining learning with the news about COVID-19 all around us. One can only imagine what is going on in their minds. Learning indeed happens when students are not stressed. But 2020 WASSCE and BECE candidates are as stressed as their teachers.
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The Change the System Needs?
Perhaps this sudden change in how learners are impacted requires that the education system in Ghana moves away from rote memorization, written examination, and outdated learning methods. Our world is quickly changing and relying more and more on technology. This may be the event that forces administrators and managers at the GES, universities, and colleges to combine e-learning with the traditional (parallel approach) after COVID-19 which would gradually introduce students and teachers to the new model and offer teachers ample time to learn how to teach online. Let us take a good look at what drives true, lifelong learning in students and integrate them into our education system in Ghana.
The idea of canceling 2020 WASSCE has been shot down by some universities, yet they have started selling admission forms to students. What changes are coming to reshape the education landscape of Ghana as we draw lessons from COVID-19?
Source: NewsGhana24.com | Wisdom Hammond