Ghana: The propaganda won’t help you – Nyamah to Apaak on WASSCE results

A Deputy Communications Director of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Richard Nyamah has asked the public to ignore the comments by Builsa South Member of Parliament Dr Clement Apaak that the results of this year’s West African Secondary School Examinations (WASSCE) were procured through massive cheating.

He said the opposition lawmaker is engaging in propaganda.

“His propaganda is not helpful. If the NDC had resolved all the issues, we wouldn’t have these issues. so he should take a second look at what he is saying,” he said on the New Day show on TV3 on Monday December 13 with host Johnnie Hughes.

Dr Apaak had criticised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for comparing the 2021 results of the WASSCE to the records of former President John Dramani Mahama.

President Akufo-Addo in a short statement released by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Mr Eugene Arhin on Saturday December 11 tat was reacting to the results, said “The 2021 WASSCE results of the second batch of the Akufo-Addo graduates” show 54.08% of students recoding AI-C5 in English, as opposed to 51.6% in 2016, 65.7% recording AI-C6 in Integrated Science  in 2021, as opposed to 48.35 in 2016, 54.11% recoding AI-C6 IN Mathematics, as compared to 33.12% in 2016 and 66.03% recording AI-C6 in Social Studies, as compared to 54.55% in 2016.  Lest we forget, the 2021 batch of students were the pioneer of the double track system , which elicited a lot of vilification and unfounded criticism on its introduction.”

WAEC on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, in a statement said “a total of 1,339 subject results and 174 entire results of some students who sat for the 2021 WASSCE for School Candidates in Ghana have been cancelled”

“It added that “the entire results of 3,667 candidates have also been withheld pending the conclusion of investigations into various cases of examination malpractice detected during and after the conduct of the examination.

Additionally, the scripts of candidates from 194 schools in certain subjects have been withheld and are being scrutinized”.

In a response to him, Dr Apaak who is also Deputy Ranking Member On Education Committee of Parliament said Mr Akufo-Addo is celebrating results procured though cheating.

“President Akufo-Addo should be telling us what he has done to address the challenges debilitating effective teaching and learning in our Secondary schools since he took over power, and retained it through “ways and means” even when Ghanaians rejected him, including beneficiaries of fSHS. He should stop gloating over results some suggest were procured through “engineering”, and comparing that to genuine results obtained by students under his predecessor, John Mahama.

“Akufo-Addo must be living in another planet or his handlers must have misled him to compare the “engineerned” results procured through massive leakages, malpractices and cheating with the complicity of an examination body (WAEC), whose integrity is currently in question, to the authentic and organic results under John Dramani Mahama.

“John Mahama didn’t procure and supply past examination questions and examiners reports as part of an effort to cover up monumental challenges affecting teaching and learning at the secondary school level: Obnoxious double track; Erratic academic calendar; overworked teaching and un-teaching staff; inadequate and unwholesome food; inadequate space and furniture; Culture of silence; lack of adequate core subject textbooks; delay is release of funds among others.

“John Mahama built new secondary schools, expanded existing schools, didn’t punish school heads for speaking out, didn’t overburden teaching and non-teaching staff, didn’t supply expired unwholesome and expired food items to schools. Under John Mahama 22 SHS didn’t score zero. Under Akufo-Addo 22 schools scored zero in 2020, we pray its not the case this year.”

Source: 3news