By Mohamed Massaquoi in Pujehun
Chairman conference of principals in Pujehun district has expressed dissatisfaction over the low passes for the National Primary School Examination (NPSE) in the last three years.
Emmanuel Gbonda, who is also the principal of Saint Stevens Technical Vocational Secondary School (SSTVSS) at Gobaru, made this disclosure on the celebration of the fourth annual speech day and prize giving ceremony of his school.
He said in the years under review they faced so many challenges from pupils who entered junior secondary school one (JSSI), adding that some pupils scored aggregates three hundred and above “yet they cannot write their names correctly”.
“I remember we have one child here in JSSI who spent three years in the same form and that child scored an aggregate of 320 in the NPSE but unfortunately she cannot the Alphabet correctly”, he complained, adding that that was similar to many instances in schools across the district.
Mr Gbonda said the conference of principals had agreed to properly monitor this year’s public exams and that in subsequent years they would have added value to quality education in the entire district.
He said they were not going to allow any head teacher at examination centres this year, claiming that they had influenced invigilators to help their pupils in the past.
He called on inspectors of schools to be really vigilant in helping to change the ugly system in the educational sector.
He complained that many primary and secondary schools were now in operation without due regard for requisite conditions to enhance the performance of pupils. The chairman told the gathering that the conference of principals would discourage such establishment of schools as had been agreed to in a recent regional conference to improve the standard of education.
Mohamed Kayimba, parent of a class six pupil, also confirmed that he knew of a pupil who could not read and write, adding that he doubted the promotional conditions of the school. “I am not going to allow my child to gain this fake promotion to secondary school,” he said.
(C) Politico 13/03/14
