Standard Based Exams good but implementation not well planned – Prof. Oduro

A former Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast Professor George K-T Oduro has commended the government for introducing the Standard Based Examination (SBE) but faulted it for poor implementation planning.

He said this in an exclusive telephone interview with our Upper East Regional Correspondent Emmanuel Akayeti in Bolgatanga, the capital of the Upper East Region.

Prof Oduro indicated that though it’s a laudable policy, there is no stakeholders’ collaboration in fashioning out the implementation plan.

According to him, this has often been the problem of most good policy introduced into the country’s educational system which are not yielding the desired results.

Prof Oduro stated that the Standard Based Test (SBT) is a good evaluative intervention for purposes of getting a broader view of children’s performance in a particular subject.

He noted that the Ghana Education Service (GES) knew that the SBT was an intervention to be implemented “so the Service should have integrated its implementation in the planned academic calendar of schools in order to eliminate pupils struggling through their normal examination stress only to be asked to extend their stay to write another examination. It exposes pupils to mental fatigue which could have been avoided through proper planning.”

He observed that planning is one of the biggest challenges facing the GES and for that matter, the country as a whole, adding that, planning has often been less engaging and done by a certain group of people pushed on others to implement.

Prof Oduro stressed that “it is one thing to invite individuals who you think will tell you what you want to hear to plan things and another thing creating a forum which will provide the opportunities for negatives and positives in terms of contribution towards a plan to be effected.”