Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has assured that issues that led to the drop in the pass rate in mathematics in this year’s WASCCE are going to be investigated and tackled.
According to the minister, it is unacceptable for the pass rate in mathematics to have dropped under his tenure in office, having been a mathematics teacher in the past.
“I just want to assure you that Mathematics should not see a dip in my time as somebody who has taught mathematics. So we are going to look at what went wrong and what we can do, which school did so well, where there were drops and then we are going to look at how best to ensure that we move up”.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
Dr. Osei Adutwum who is also a lawmaker for Bosomtwe stated that the pass rate average in this year’s WASSCE results is 60 per cent and noted that certain subjects pass rate went up whiles others dipped.
“If you put it on average it is still 60 per cent. So, if you look at English for example, there was a dip, mathematics there was a dip but Integrated Science saw huge jump and Social Studies saw an increase and so over all, the average is still 60 per cent”.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
50% pass rate in core subjects
The Education Minister further averred that the good news is that two years in a row, there has been a 50 per cent plus pass rate in the core subjects which means more students will then qualify to go to the university.
He explained that in the past years, what happened was that a candidate may have 70 per cent or 80 per cent pass in social studies, and mathematics is 33 per cent and because mathematics is 33 per cent, there can’t be more than 33 per cent of the students going to the university.
“So, if English is 30 percent, even if all the subjects are 70 percent, you can’t have more than 30 per cent going to the university. The moment you move English and Mathematics up then you are guaranteed a higher rate of entry into the universities. So this is good news for the country”.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
He therefore encouraged the general populace to support the students. He described the students as bold and brave young men and women who in the midst of a pandemic have sat through the exams and have performed.
“I will encourage all of us that the same way that we support the black stars when they play and win, when our students play and win, let us come together as a people and celebrate them. So, it shouldn’t be about why they didn’t do well. I want all of us as Ghanaians to celebrate our young ones”.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
Touching on some grades especially Mathematics and English preventing students from entering into the university, Dr. Adutwum mentioned that an intervention will be provided for them to allow them the opportunity to enter into the universities.
“If they can go to universities in the UK, why should we prevent them from attending universities in our own country?”
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum
