Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, has raised concerns about Junior High School students likely to write the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) without access to textbooks.
In an interview on JoyFM’s Super Morning Show, Asare emphasized that the first batch of students using the Common Core curriculum is expected to take their BECE next year. However, there is a significant problem – the lack of textbooks needed for their studies.
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Asare warned that if efforts are not made to provide textbooks between now and June, these students might find themselves “writing BECE without seeing any textbooks.
According to Asare, the anticipated lack of textbooks is attributed to a dispute between publishers and the government.
Publishers, who were initially optimistic about the government’s promise of 100% local content support in the publication of textbooks, reportedly procured loans to print textbooks. However, they claim that the government has not fulfilled its payment obligations, leaving them in financial distress.
Asare noted that the publishers owe about 90% of their expenses and emphasized the substantial costs involved in creating textbooks.
This financial strain has led to a situation where, if publishers have not been paid, the textbooks are likely not ready, let alone undergoing the procurement process.
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Asare expressed scepticism about the timely availability of junior school textbooks, stating, “That’s why I don’t see the junior school textbooks happening anytime between now and the next BECE.”