Former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has called for increased teacher professional development following concerns over the use of social media language and jargon in the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

According to him, the appearance of informal social media expressions in students’ examination scripts points to a growing difficulty among some students in distinguishing between language used on social media and the formal language expected in academic settings.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Wednesday, September 9, Dr Adutwum said the development should not be viewed as a crisis but rather as an opportunity to strengthen teacher training and academic counselling in schools.

“I don't think the sky is falling. It's not the end of the world, but it's an opportunity for teacher retraining, professional development,” he said.

Dr Adutwum stressed the need for teachers to identify and address such challenges within the classroom before students sit for external examinations.

He said teachers should be equipped through continuous professional development and professional learning communities where emerging challenges affecting students’ academic performance can be discussed.

“These issues can be discussed there, for teachers to then go back to their classrooms and be able to spot these things and advise students,” he explained.

According to him, teachers should be able to caution students when they use inappropriate expressions in academic work and explain the possible consequences.

He further argued that such issues should ideally be detected during classroom assessments and internal examinations rather than first becoming apparent in WASSCE scripts.

Dr Adutwum also called for stronger academic counselling and guidance for students to help them understand the distinction between informal communication and the language required in formal examinations.

He believes a combination of teacher retraining, classroom monitoring and student guidance can help address the challenge and ensure that social media jargon does not undermine students’ performance in future external examinations.