By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Oct. 11, GNA – Mr John Ashrifie, Tema Metropolitan Exams Coordinator for the Ghana Education Service (GES), has advised Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates to select their prospective Senior High Schools correctly to avoid having challenges.
Mr Ashrifie explained that the wrongful selection of schools by candidates and their parents was a major cause of the challenges some candidates face after their placement.
He gave the advice at the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) Redemption Congregation at Tema Community Nine.
Mr Ashrifie encouraged parents to do the selection with the help of the teachers who know the academic abilities of the candidates instead of just choosing the schools and programmes based on other factors.
“The important thing is that, if you do the combination of selecting the schools very well, there will be no problem,” he said, and explained that the Senior High Schools have been categorized into three, based on the facilities available.
He said the categorization has nothing to do with the quality of the teaching staff at a particular school stressing that any qualified teacher could teach in any secondary school across Ghana.
Mr Ashrifie who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Education Committee of the PCG, Redemption Congregation, stated that when selecting a school, a candidate was expected to choose one Category A School on the selection sheet, although that was not compulsory.
He noted that two schools can be selected from Category B Schools, while the candidate could also decide to select all the schools from Category C Schools.
He said Tema Secondary School was the only Category A School in Tema, while Our Lady of Mercy SHS (OLAMS), and Chemu SHS are classified as category B, and all other SHS within Tema were in Category C.
He reminded candidates that getting a grade nine in mathematics, science, and English automatically disqualifies them from being placed to benefit from the free SHS, as their name would not be in the system.
He urged the pupils to study towards the BECE which would commence on October 17.
He said while the GES handles the school selection, it was the Computerized School Selection and Placement System Secretariat (CSSPS) that does the placement.
Mr Ashrifie, therefore, advised parents to contact the Secretariat for redress whenever they have challenges with their ward’s placements.
GNA