By Emmanuel Nyatsikor, GNA
Adaklu Helekpe (V/R), Sept. 27, GNA – Educationist Aaron Feron-Fenuku on Friday reminded teachers to honestly reflect on the commitment to their professional responsibilities in order to arrest the declining performance of some Senior High Schools (SHSs).
He said though teaching was demanding, effective teaching required preparation, punctuality, regular assessment, remediation and continuous monitoring of learners’ progress.
Mr Aaron Feron-Fenuku, the educationist expressed these sentiments in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Adaklu Helekpe.
It was in reaction to the Ghana Education Service Performance Report which revealed a stark educational failure of at least 15 SHS in the Volta region that recorded a complete zero qualification rate in the 2026 WASSCE.
He stated that this did not mean that teachers were solely responsible for the poor results but added that every teacher recognized that classroom practice has a direct bearing on students’ learning.
“Where lesson preparation, classroom engagement, marking of exercises and followup on weak students become a routine or are given inadequate attention, learning outcomes are likely to suffer,” he said.
Mr Feron-Fenuku also noted that heads of schools and their management team could also not escape blame because they have an important role in creating systems that ensured teaching and learning took place effectively.
“If management supervision of lesson delivery, attendance, assessment, lesson notes, students’ academic progress and instructional practices become weak, some gaps may go unnoticed for too long which will in turn affect examination results negatively,” he noted.
He continued that supervision was not about policing teachers but supporting them to identify their weaknesses early, providing interventions and ensuring that the academic programme remained on course.
Mr Feron-Fenuku also identified another contributory factor as the situation where some students believed that they could pass examinations without adequate preparation because answers would be made available to them in the examination halls.
“This culture is particularly dangerous because it can create a false sense of preparedness and a student may enter the examination hall believing that success is guaranteed only to discover that the expected assistance is not available,” he stated.
Mr Feron-Fenuku said students are also accustomed to the use of technology which provided answers rather than using it as a legitimate learning resource thereby undermining genuine academic presentation.
“There appears to be an increasing preference among some students for shortcuts rather than sustained academic efforts,” he noted.
He stressed that the quality of students admitted into a school could also influence its eventual examination outcomes adding that some schools admit students with significant gaps in their foundational knowledge.
Mr Feron-Fenuku said parents could also not escape blame for the poor results because some deliberately refused to provide their wards learning and educational materials, not monitoring their wards study habits, academic progress and general behaviour.
He stated that the West African Examination Council had also of late increased its monitoring and enforced its examination rules which made it difficult for candidates to benefit from examination malpractices.
This development, he said should rather strengthen teaching and learning so that students could succeed without depending on examination malpractices.
Mr Feron-Fenuku intimated that the poor WASSCE performance observed in some schools between 2024 and 2026 should therefore be a wakeup call and should provoke serious reflection rather than a blame game.
“We are all part of the problem behind the dwindling performance of our students so we all must also be part of the solution.
“The time has come for all of us as stakeholders to take a critical look at our own contribution to the situation,” he noted.
Mr Feron-Fenuku advised that the objective should not merely be to improve WASSCE results but the goal should be to restore the culture of learning, discipline, responsibility and genuine academic achievement in all schools.
“If we want a different and a better result, then we must be prepared to do things differently and collectively,” he stated.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah /Kenneth Odeng Adade