The various directors of education have been reminded by the Ghana Education Service to assess pupils by following the guidelines suggested in the learning assessment framework of the Standard-Based Curriculum (SBC).
The situation was brought to light after the GES management received a tip-off regarding some district, metro, and municipal directors of education illegally collecting money from parents and students to conduct end-of-term tests.
In a press statement released yesterday, Prof. Kwasi Opoku Amankwah said that the school-based assessment, comprising tests undertaken internally at the school level, should form the basis for the Internal Assessment Score (IAS).
This includes homework, class tests, group work, and project work.
According to the professor, the collection of monies from pupils and parents authorized by some directors should stop with immediate effect.
How some district, metro, and municipal directors of education are cashing out
By preparing tests for students and charging them a fee, certain district, metro, and municipal directors of education who have disobeyed the Director-General’s instruction are profiting handsomely.
Most of these directors liaise with the various basic school heads by working on a commission base.
As the director determines the amount that each school must pay based on enrollment, a certain threshold is anticipated to be met.
For example, if a school has 200 students and each student is required to pay 10 Cedis, the education office would need to receive 2,000 Cedis before test papers could be distributed to the school.
Because not all pupils can pay it, head teachers are occasionally compelled to add up to reach the threshold.
If a head teacher refuses to comply with the director’s request, his supervisor will be furious, and this may occasionally result in the removal of the person from their post.