By Solomon Quaye (BSc. Geology)
The West African Examination Council, Liberia has to be commended for the timely release of the exam results. This obviously was a hectic load of work done over impressively short time duration.
Again, the procedures involved in scoring, collating and final release of results, if rigorously applied, will raise questions about the authenticity of the results released.
Who marks the marker?
To be considered on appointment as WAEC examiner for the marking exercise, you must possess the following qualifications:
- ¥ Degrees in the subjects applied for, obtained from recognized universities or institutions
- ¥ Minimum of three years post-qualification teaching experience in the subjects.
- ¥ Possess thorough knowledge of the subject he/she wishes to examine
- ¥ Applicants must, in addition, be computer literate (at least, be capable of using word processing programme). They must also have demonstrated the ability to be thorough and accurate in their work and be able to meet target dates.
- ¥ Their integrity must be unquestionable.
Considering this, the queries will be:
- 1. Did our markers meet these criteria?
- 2. Are these ruthless markers actually in the Liberian classrooms to consider the efforts applied by our underprepared students?
Educational Reform, Being Real!
In an attempt to curb the educational crises plaguing the country, the minister of education in recent times has introduced several policies. Laudable among these was the issuance of a permit to entities aspiring to operate schools only at the Ministry of Education.
Reform, I believe, should be centered on sectors where the stakeholders have complete oversight responsibility for. Similar reform measures can be extended further when found to be practical and sustainable.
Educational reform in Liberia today can begin with motivation for learners. If students learned at the earlier stages of development that there is a reward for hard work, it will remain a culture for productivity and potential maximization.
An independent board, in this case, WAEC should be tasked with the mandate of regulating enrolment of students into senior high government schools.
Best performing students can be posted to government schools in their respective counties. This is to ease the burden of building dormitories at the moment. In these government schools, the students should be privileged to benefit from a properly structured school with the necessary infrastructure to enhance learning.
Conclusion
It is a well-established fact that the educational system in Liberia is below the benchmark established by the international community. Embracing our deficiencies will enable us to identify areas that need strengthening. There are preparatory stages in all ventures which cannot be underestimated. There is no coyness in the recognition of deficiencies that are glaring.
Education is expensive yet beneficial. This makes the citizens of any country applaud governments that embark on policies to subsidize cost attached to education since it is every government’s objective to seek the interest of its citizens.
In attempts to persuade people to opt for a decision taken by an organization, a sincere analysis of the realities and outlines of both the pros and cons must be punctiliously done.
Quality education does not rest primarily on entrepreneurs, but the government. The concern is to ensure that good numbers of students make a pass (i.e. between grades 1 and 3) – an occurrence that is very rare in Liberia.
Students in Liberia should be able to gain admission into universities within the sub-region and even beyond. This is unlikely where a pass to the Liberian student is 7 or even worse, 8.
The desire of every student is to take an exam with much more accreditation when the right premises are set.
References
http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=ajim.2008.23.30
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/02/government-responsibility-to-citizens-anne-marie-slaughter/
https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/wassce-results-due-july-5/
https://www.waecgh.org/OTHERSERVICES/AppointmentofExaminers.aspx