PPP will abolish BECE, says Brigitte Dzogbenuku
The Progressive People’s Party flagbearer, Brigitte Dzogbenuku, promises to formally put an end to the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) if elected into power
The flagbearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Brigitte Dzogbenuku, is promising to abolish the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) if elected in this December’s presidential election.
The PPP flagbearer says the current examination arrangement prevents students from climbing the educational ladder.
“When we say we will abolish the Basic Education Certificate Examination, [it is because] there are so many children who drop out because they don’t pass the BECE and they can’t make it to SHS.
“We are cutting out a lot of our children with examinations when they can carry on and go to SHS,” she said.
Dzogbenuku was speaking in an interview with Nana Yaa Mensah on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (14 September).
Compulsory education
Over the weekend, Dzogbenuku was elected to lead the Progressive People’s Party, following the decision by the PPP’s founder, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, on health grounds, not to stand in the 2020 general election.
The PPP flagbearer promises that, if given the nod, the party will enforce compulsory education from kindergarten to senior high school level.
“Some people say we can’t enforce that. We can. We will ensure you are arrested as a parent for not letting your child go to school. Let’s imagine a Ghana where at least everybody has senior high school education. It will lift the discourse up a whole lot,” she said.
Access is all?
Of free senior high school, Dzogbenuku said the concept concerned itself with access only, and not quality, hence the low standards in education.
“It looked like, with Free SHS, it was about access and not standards: let’s get the children in. And guess what, look at what happened with COVID and all of them are at home.’’
Dzogbenuku pointed out that whereas Ghana may have got a few students to write exams, the academic calendar has been badly affected by the novel coronavirus.
Fred Dzakpata
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