Minister for the North East Region Mr. Zakaria Yidana has lamented over the poor performance by final year students who sat for the 2020 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in the region.
He revealed that only 117 students passed the WASSCE examination, representing just 3% out of a total number of 5,000 registered, adding that the remaining 4,883 students did not pass and that is 97% failure.
The incensed Minister said, “We did not ask for a region just so because we wanted the name, we did so because we believed that we have more than capable young men and women who can lead this region to its destination and you cannot fail us in that regard.”
Addressing teachers and students of the Walewale Vocational and Technical Institute at a short ceremony to commission a 400-bed girl’s dormitory and a 12-unit classroom block, Mr. Yidana urged the students to be submissive so that the teachers can guide them properly to study well to become better people in the future.
He emphasized that the teachers are more than capable to see to it that students succeed in their educational career, indicating however that much of the work would depend on the students.
The educationist now politician maintained that the younger generation in the next two decades would become future leaders and failure to adequately prepare now means they would not be capable of assuming leadership roles in order to deliver the desired goals in the country.
“I want to plead with you to diligently apply yourselves to learn, submit yourselves to the authorities of the school, and work hard to justify the huge investments that your parents and the government of Ghana have made in your education. And also remember, for you to succeed, it’s about how much effort you put in your studies” he further implored.
Advice to teachers
The North East Regional Minister did not also fail to advise teachers in the region to live up to their responsibilities.
He said children are always naïve and do things out of ignorance and thereby would rely on the wise counselling and guidance of teachers to become better persons in future.