By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) has contradicted the 2022 WASSCE results released by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) during a presser today 25th August 2022, noting that the analysis is inaccurate.
MoBSE’s Permanent Secretary, Luis Moses Mendy announced that there are over one thousand four hundred and fifty-eight (1458) outstanding results from students that were not captured by WAEC in their result analysis. He said the critics of the ministry are analysing the results without any benchmark or reference. He reiterated that the release from WAEC is erroneous.
“The circulation on social media is not presenting the truth and fair picture of the results. We found that really not too accurate. The results that have been published by WAEC, came when there were some outstanding results,” PS Mendy explained.
He further told the press that, the ministry has written to WAEC over the result analysis but was quick to note that the examination council is an independent body.
According to him, there are still pending results. He revealed that as of today, August 25, the number of students that have five credits and above, including English language and Mathematics, is Seven hundred and sixteen (716) instead of the Six hundred and five (605) released by WAEC. He alluded that if the 1458 outstanding results were included in the analysis of WAEC, the dynamics would have changed.
The release from the examination council stated that 15360 students sat for the 2022 WASSCE exams, out of which only 605 students from The Gambia scored five-plus credits including English language and Mathematics.
However, despite the public outcry over the low number of students without credits in English language and Mathematics, the Deputy Permanent Secretary Programmes at MoBSE, Adama Jimbajobe said that the ministry is partially happy with the results. He asserted that there are a good number of students with seven and eight credits but could not have a credit in either English language or Mathematics. He defended that those students cannot be regarded as bad students or failures.
In its new strategies of changing the format of the curriculum, the ministry is now working on changing the curriculum from a Knowledge-based to a competency-based curriculum that will prepare some students for vocational jobs.
