The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa has directed stakeholders to find a solution to the declining performance of candidates in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the Ho Municipality.

He expressed worry at the development, adding that it puts the region’s future in limbo.

Dr. Letsa was speaking at the maiden stakeholder’s consultative engagement on educational and learning outcomes in Ho in the Volta region. 

“To reverse this trend, stakeholders must work together to improve teacher capacity and pedagogy, invest in modern educational resources and infrastructure, encourage student-centered learning and extracurricular activities, and foster strong partnerships between schools, parents, and the community,” Dr. Letsa said.

The Ho Municipality had a pass rate of 69% in 2019, 68%, 61%, 59%, and 54% in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively.

The statistics also indicate that only 6 students out of 2,938 obtained an aggregate of 6 in the 2019 BECE, with 8 out of 2,967 obtaining an aggregate of 6 in 2020.

It was, however, worrying to note that only a candidate out of 3,271 obtained an aggregate of 6 in 2021, while no candidate had an aggregate of 6 out of 3,070 in the 2022 examinations. 3 students out of 3,549 obtained an aggregate of 6 in the 2023 BECE. 

Careful study of the statistics shows a steady decline in performance from 2019 to 2023, while performance in mathematics and some other subjects declined as well.

This necessitated a stakeholder consultative engagement under the auspices of the Ho Municipal Education Directorate to unravel the misery behind the abysmal performance.

The Ho Municipal Director of Education, Dr. Esther Adzo Yeboah-Adzimah said the trend is a huge concern and stakeholders must come together to overcome it.

“We can enhance student performance, increase access to quality education, and prepare our children for their success in the 21st century. Let us commit to this shared goal and work towards creating a brighter future for our learners and our community,” she said.

The Ho Municipal Chief Executive, Divine Bosson, asserted that the poor performance in the BECE indicates a deficit in the delivery of quality education.

The Regional Director of Education, Francis Agbemadi, suggested a paradigm shift in the approach to education in the region to enhance academic performance.

“There is the need for all hands to be on deck. We need to come out with new ideas that will help us address this challenge. Let us share our experiences, let us share expertise, let us share best practices so that we will make Ho municipality a center of excellence in education delivery,” he stated.

Providing educational infrastructure and logistics, improving teacher training and support, parental involvement, and introducing and implementing effective educational policies, were some of the key points raised to tackle the declining education performance.

An action plan would be formulated containing the identified problems and possible solutions to help enhance performance at the basic level in the Ho Municipality.