By Mustapha Sesay
This year’s National Primary School Examination (NPSE) candidates were faced with twin-shocks at their first attempt of public examinations: Indefinite postponement and mismatch between questions and answers on their question booklets.
These two situations have compelled many, including teachers and parents, to believe that the performance of the children this year would not be encouraging because of what the pupils had gone through. This awful condition of education system has not only been limited to NPSE exams, but it also has extended to the general status of education in the country, showing the diminishing reality in terms of what had happened around the education sector over the years.
Largely, people are blaming the Education Ministry and West African Examination Council (WEAC), the body that conducts national exams in the country.But a huge chunk of that is to be blamed on the ministry for failing to play its supervisory role, and sometimes meeting its financial commitment to the exams body.
Abdul Fonti Kabia is the Executive Director of Fonticia Foundation, who has engaged WAEC on a number of issues regarding the conduct of exams and the seizure of results of candidates by the Council felt had engaged in malpractices. At some point he had taken the council to court, a development he claimed had forced the council to release over 1,000 results.
He told Politico, in an interview at his Percival Street office in Freetown, that the “inhuman treatment of the primary school pupils was a clear example of the fact that both the Ministry of Education and WAEC were not fit for purpose”.
“The conduct of this year’s NPSE exams shows the abysmal state of education in the country and also points out that the Ministry of Education and WAEC are not up to the task. The whole situation is a mess for the children who are attempting their first public exams”, the director said, adding: “In the first place asking the children on the day of national exam to carry chairs and desks amount to child labour.It is not acceptable and it just reaffirms our call for WAEC not to conduct national exams anymore.”
This strong condemnation of how the NPSE was conducted was not limited to comments made by the director of Fonticia foundation. Others have weighed in on the system, among them is Heal Salone, an organization that is also concerned with the status of education in the country.
Joseph Sannoh, of Heal Salone had also told Politico that they were concerned about the situation and that they were more concerned about the fact the children were subjected to carrying chairs on the examination day. He said the discrepancies between the questions and answers would definitely have a negative impact on the results.
He disclosed that they were going to engage the Ministry of Education and WAEC to chart a way forward in line with what would happen next for school pupils.
Cordelier Campbell, Head Teacher of Methodist City Mission Primary School at Bathurst Street in central Freetown, said her school was not affected because there was enough furniture at the centre where her pupils took the NPSE. She however,recalled that examinations over the years have been marred by a lot of challenges, including late arrival of examination materials at the different centres and that this year was just exceptional.
“There have been a lot of hiccups in the whole process, considering the time questions papers get to centre and so many other issues. I can say it has not been okay.Meanwhile, those in charge will always go on air and say everything about the exam is fine”, she told Politico at her Bathurst Street School, noting that she wasn’t optimistic about what the pupils would do in the exams.
“Some of these pupils don’t even read well let alone there is a mix-up in the questions and optional answers.”
But even the situation seemsso grim despite that some parents are still hopeful that their children would do well in the NPSE exams.
Margaret Tengbeh is one of those parents. She told Politico that, her child was well prepared for the examination and that she was hopeful that the result would be good. She said the postponement, added to the time of study, also gave them some time to complete most of the topics in the NPSE syllabus.
Madam Tengbeh, however, pointed out that the mismatch in questions and answers was worrying but she prayed and hopedthat her child would overcome it.
(C) Politico 10/06/16
