Focus on studies to take advantage of Free SHS

THE Shai Osudoku Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Fred Offei, has charged final-year students preparing for next month’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to focus on their studies in order to benefit from the government’s free senior high school (SHS) policy.

He said aside from the free SHS, the assembly was preparing packages for candidates who would excel in the examination to enable them to climb the academic ladder to the highest level.

The MCE said this after inspecting a common mock examination for candidates in the district preparing for the BECE, which was based on the common core curriculum.

The mock exams, sponsored by the assembly, sought to test the candidates’ preparedness towards the BECE next month.

In all 2,349 candidates would be writing the examination in the district, comprising 1,238 females and 1,111 males.

Mr Offei stated that the opportune time had come for the candidates to give all they had in their studies in order to make not only themselves proud but also their families and the district.

Academic reports

He said the academic record of the district was gradually improving after having moved from 40 per cent three years ago to 68 last year and “we are targeting over 75 per cent pass rate this year hence the assembly’s resolve to sponsor the mock examination of all the final year students.

“You have to aim high and excel at the end, that is why the assembly has taken it upon itself to sponsor the mock in order to assist the education directorate to effectively assess their performance before the actual examination,” he added.

He urged parents of students preparing for the examination not to burden them with household chores but rather support them “in these trying times as they are the first batch to write the BECE based on the new curriculum,” Mr Offei said.

The District Director of Education, Harriet Lomotey, said the mock would be written tri-weekly and the answer scripts swapped among the various subject teachers in the district.

The interventions, she explained, would help the various schools to know the weaknesses of their candidates in order to address them before the national examination next month.

Miss Lomotey stated that the current curriculum was based on standard application of knowledge and critical thinking and urged the final years to at least take a subject a day to make up for the lost time.

She urged the candidates to approach their teachers in times of difficulties with their studies since the curriculum was new.