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The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare says there is a likelihood that Junior High School students may have to take the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) without access to any textbooks.
According to him, there has been a shift in the curriculum since the finalisation of the Common Core curriculum by government.
He emphasised that the Common Core curriculum did not reach finalisation on the same day as the primary school curriculum.
Speaking on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, January 3, Mr Asare stated that the first batch of students using the Common Core curriculum would be sitting for the BECE next year.
He emphasised that if efforts are not made to provide textbooks between now and June, these students might be “writing BECE without seeing any textbooks” as they have commenced learning under the Common Core.
Mr Asare clarified that he does not anticipate the availability of textbooks due to an issue between the publishers and the government.
According to him, the publishers claim they have not been paid by the government.
“When they were promised that the government was giving them 100% local content in the publication of textbooks, they were all happy, and they went and procured loans to print textbooks, and then they have not been paid. They owe about 90% of what they do,” he said.
Highlighting the severity of the problem, the Executive Director noted the substantial expenses involved in creating textbooks.
He further emphasised that if publishers have not been paid, it implies that the textbooks are not ready, let alone the procurement process.
“That’s why I don’t see the junior school textbooks happening anytime between now and the next BECE,” he concluded.
