MoE make changes in 34th BECE optional and compulsory subjects
The Ministry of Education (MoE) after an engagement with the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) has made changes in subjects to be optional and compulsory for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination.
In a post sighted by Thisterm.com, GNACOPS said the Education Ministry has approved Ghanaian Language to be a compulsory examinable subject for the BECE to be conducted in July 2024 while Computing becomes an optional subject.
“Ghanaian Language has now become a compulsory examination subject while Computing becomes optional until technological educational infrastructure is well positioned in the education sector,” the Private Schools Council said.
This comes after Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) expressed worry about the introduction of Computing subject to be written by final-year Junior High School (JHS) students in this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination.
Introduced as part of the new Standards-Based Curriculum in 2019, the Watch said about 62% of public JHSs lack functioning computer laboratories (CDD, 2021), limiting access to ICT facilities for teaching and learning in Computing.
“In deprived regions like Savanah (72%), North East (67%), Northern (65%), Upper West (61%), Upper East (56%) and Bono East (56%), more than half of children aged 6-14, did not use an ICT gadget. (GSS, 2021)
Is the government aware that without functioning computer labs in all basic schools, no effective teaching of the Computing curriculum can happen?
Why are we using basic education to deepen inequality by grooming an urban ICT literate youth against a rural ICT illiterate youth? So, what exactly have these poor children been taught, about computing, and what are they going to write?
During the launch of the new curriculum, I indicated that the importance of the new curriculum is seen in the availability of the critical building blocks required for its implementation; and not its content,” the think tank stated.
The 2024 edition of the BECE for School Candidates will be administered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) from July 8, 2024, to July 12, 2024, the management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has said.
In a statement sighted by Thisterm.com, GES indicated the West African Examinations Council will provide detailed information regarding the registration of candidates for the examinations to the heads of the schools in the coming weeks.
It very good Our own mother tongue is a compulsory subject now .I also suggest the ministry should consider making career technology a core or compulsory subject since the government is advocating for technical education to reduce unemployment rate in the country.
Student are still not serious with the technical subject as it is with Ghanaian language because it is not compulsory. Must we even have compulsory subject?You see student are never serious with subject which are not considered core or compulsory, when this happens teachers who teach the non core subject are not given much attention in class and this affect their work.
I believe every subject is important hence should be given equal treatment or attention. Every individual has where his or her strength lies. if Ama is interested and very good at creative Art because she want to become an artist in future, don’t you think Ama will not be motivated to pursue that cause because her best subject is not considered most important like the EMSS and now GL?