By Hajaratu Kalokoh
A research by the Freetown City Council (FCC) has revealed that 6,000 pupils who took the National Primary School Examination (NPSE) this year shaded answers wrongly during the examination.
The research, done in partnership with the Association of Independent Schools (ARS), is part of efforts by the Council to better organize itself in delivering in its mandate in the education sector.
Dr Brian Conton, a consultant member of the research team, noted that some of the pupils underlined the answers instead of shading them as was required. This meant that the machine couldn’t mark those papers, he said.
“If we want better performances we have to train our children, we have to train our teachers, we have to conduct mock examinations, and this is an inexcusable basic that every child should know, how to shade correctly,” Dr Conton said at the launch of the report last week at the Miata Conference Center.
The NPSE prepares primary school pupils for enrollment into Junior Secondary School. A total of 136,526 candidates wrote the exams.
Among other things, the study also shows that the average pass rate in the country reduced by just over 2%. This year’s average pass rate is 75.8% compared to 77.7% in 2018 and 77.1% in 2017.
Elder sister of one of the 2019 NPSE candidates, Sento Mansaray told Politico that his brother has attempted the exams three times but still couldn’t get the pass mark. In his first attempt in 2017, the boy scored 221, in the second try he got 213, and in 2019 he scored 219.
Mansaray’s brother could be one of many candidates who have a problem with shading their answers properly.
A key factor that was highlighted in the FCC research findings is that most pupils could not understand basic shading instructions to accurately choose their option in the multiple section of the examination.
The research also offered an opportunity to understand the problems associated with public examinations in the country.
Yvonne Aki Sawyer, Mayor of Freetown, explained at the launch that their target is to enhance teaching, learning and safety standards.
“We know that what we are discussing will have application outside the primary and junior secondary but as Freetown City Council our principal focus in achieving our target are the primary schools and Junior secondary schools,” Sawyer said.
She said the Council’s aim is to see that 100% of school children in the municipality can take public exams in a transparent and credible condition. But delivering on this promise will not be easy, she noted, adding that the council has only received a fraction of what it is supposed to work with.
“As of now, in the middle of September we have only received 20% of our budgetary allocation for the entire year. That, of course, has a hiccup on our ability to deliver services including our ability to deliver services in the education sector; whether it’s fixing toilet or making furniture in school. If we do not have the budget then we are not going to do those things.”
But wrong shading of answers is not the only problem. Dr Conton said that in some cases the wrong pencils are used for the exams. A special type of pencil known as 2B is required for public exams.
“I want to appeal to my boss, the Mayor and to all the other Councils, that there is a simple resolution to this. Let us just get the pencils for the children. Let every child in the municipality be provided with proper pencils to go and sit the examination and I can assure you that is going to save at least two weeks of the marking time for WAEC,” he said.
© 2019 Politico Online
