Standards in mathematics and sciences plummeting-Lecturer

Mr John Gatsi, a Lecturer at the School of Business of the University of Cape Coast has decried the steady decline in student performance in mathematics and science based subjects.

He said the trend must be reversed before it puts the nation’s industrial development agenda in jeopardy.

Mr Gatsi made the observation at Dzodze while addressing 200 Junior High School and Senior High School students, from the Ketu-North District, who were undertaken an appraisal examination in Integrated Science, Mathematics, English and Social Studies.

There was also a workshop for 80 science and mathematics teachers from the District

Mr Gatsi noted that out of the 1,345 presented by the District this year for the 2012 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) only 26.2 per cent obtained grades 1-5 in integrated science and 27.2 per cent in mathematics.

He said: “Only 21.3 per cent had grades 1-5 in ICT and 24.5 per cent in pre-technical, a reflection of the poor mathematics and the sciences in the District.”

Mr Gatsi said only the overall best student in the 2011 version of the appraisal examination scored 50 per cent in mathematics.

The appraisal examination, dubbed Annual Excellence Award Competition in Mathematics and Science Quiz, the third in a series, was under the aegis of John Gatsi Educational Foundation.

It was instituted by Mr Gatsi to generate a competitive learning culture among students to lift up their overall academic performance.

Best performing students are given book and cash prizes.

Mr Gatsi said the workshop was to address some challenges in respect of methodology and teaching to make students more committed to the learning of mathematics and the sciences.

Mr Gatsi said a total of 16 schools, in the rural areas of the district, scored 0 per cent in the 2012 BECE while only one public school was among the best performing schools that scored between 90 to 100 per cent.

He identified the provision of more kindergartens, school infrastructure and learning tools as critical in mitigating the abysmal performance and urged stakeholders to sit up.

Mrs Philomena Afeti, District Director of Education in a speech read for on her behalf said the “teaching of science and mathematics is skewed towards mere recital instead of practicals, making the (subject) unattractive“.

Mrs Afeti appealed to others to emulate the efforts of Mr Gatsi to forestall the decline.