Mistakes That Will Make BECE Candidates Fail Core Subjects: New Chief Examiner’s Report
WAEC
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) recently released a new Chief Examiner’s Report outlining the reasons why students failed the 2021 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and offering recommendations to students, teachers, and schools.
The report provides useful insights for students who will be taking the 2023 BECE, outlining the mistakes made by candidates that led to their failure. Here are some of the key findings and suggested remedies:
Weaknesses of BECE Candidates in the English Language Paper
The report identified a number of weaknesses in candidates’ performance in the English language paper, including:
- Lack of focus on the requirements of essay questions
- Inappropriate vocabulary usage
- Grammatical and syntactical errors
- Failure to read the comprehension passage before answering the questions
- Inability to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant answers
- Omission or improper numbering of answers
To address these issues, the Chief Examiner recommends that candidates pay more attention to the study of English grammar and structure, distinguish between the formats of various types of essays, read widely, use the dictionary often, and do a lot of exercises on essay writing. Candidates should also be encouraged to diligently read the texts in The Cockcrow and study literary devices in order to identify them in texts.
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Weaknesses of BECE Candidates in Integrated Science
The Chief Examiner’s Report identified several weaknesses among BECE candidates in Integrated Science, including:
- Inability to state the correct scientific units
- Inappropriate use of scientific formulae and expressions
- Inability to distinguish between experimental observation and conclusion
- Inadequate knowledge of agricultural concepts
- Difficulty interpreting practical questions, especially observations and conclusions
To overcome these weaknesses, the Chief Examiner recommends that teachers take time to teach candidates the difference between various scientific terms and conventions, provide practical exercises that guide students to interpret, observe and draw correct conclusions, and encourage students to read more storybooks to improve their expressions and use of words.
Weaknesses of BECE Candidates in Social Studies
The Chief Examiner’s Report also identified a number of weaknesses in BECE candidates’ performance in Social Studies, including:
- Inability to identify ways in which education can cause change in society
- Inability to sustain unity in various ethnic groups in Ghana
- Lack of understanding of the definition of political stability
- Inability to identify ways undisciplined behavior affects individuals in society
- Inadequate knowledge of the contribution of NGOs to the development of Ghana
- Inability to identify ways of resolving conflicts in society
- Inability to apply knowledge in practical situations
To address these issues, the Chief Examiner recommends that teachers provide more lessons and explanations on every aspect of the syllabus, encourage students to read widely, and engage them in practical exercises that help them understand and apply the knowledge acquired in class.
Weaknesses of BECE Candidates in Mathematics:
The report revealed that candidates struggled with applying laws of indices to simplify given expressions, clearing fractions and solving linear equations, solving word problems, finding rules for given mappings, and simplifying fractions and converting to the nearest whole numbers. To remedy these issues, the report recommended using activities, teaching and learning materials, and involving students in teaching concepts and solving examples, practicing what they have been taught, and giving enough exercises on their areas of weaknesses.
In conclusion, the Chief Examiner’s Report for the 2021 BECE identified the weaknesses of candidates in core subjects and provided recommendations to address them. Candidates should take note of these recommendations and make efforts to improve in their areas of weakness to pass the 2023 BECE. Teachers and schools should also work on these recommendations to improve the quality of education in Ghana.
