Some Senior High School (SHS) students in the Northern Region who are in their final year have lamented the significant negative effects the continuing teachers' strike will have on their performance on the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) about the situation in Tamale, some students from the Kalpohin SHS and Vittin SHS in the Sagnarigu Municipality and Tamale Metropolis expressed concern over their inability to complete some topics on the syllabus due to the double track system and COVID-19 effects, adding that the teachers' strike was an additional setback.
Nelson Bagrine, a Kalpohin SHS final year science student, claimed that his cohort was already falling behind academically as a result of being at home for over a year during the early phases of the COVID-19 epidemic.
He said that the school's science pupils had not finished the practical portions of the curriculum, which were an important component of the WASSCE, and that they would not be able to do so without teachers.
He pleaded with the striking teacher unions to take into account WASSCE aspirants and claimed that some educators were ready to teach but were afraid of the repercussions of disobeying their mother organisations.
It was challenging to do private studies during school hours, according to Adam Ibrahim, a final-year business student at Kalpohin SHS, because the majority of the topics required instructor help for comprehension and clarity.
Jamaldenn Abdul Nasir, a final-year home economics student at Vittin SHS, expressed regret about the WASSCE class of 2022's prospects for academic success.
claiming that because of the double track system, there was no significant teaching during their first year.
He urged the government to take the necessary steps to get teachers back in the classroom, adding "Our elders informed us that WASSCE is challenging. How can we become future leaders if teachers do not teach us how to pass?"
Home Economics student Abdul-Karim Jemila, a senior at Vittin SHS, remarked "Some of the subjects were not covered. Therefore, we beg the government to take the required steps to allow our professors to return and tutor us."
The GNA was informed by Mr. Amidu Sualiu, Assistant Headmaster, Administration at Vittin SHS, that the mock test for final-year students had been postponed due to a lack of instructors. Although Management was still in charge of controlling students' movements, he claimed that it was challenging to do so, and as a result, several boarders had fled campus.
Despite the fact that the WASSCE was about to start the next month, the GNA's visit to these SHS revealed vacant classrooms and few pupils in the dorms while the bulk had gone home.
Junior high schools (JHS), such as Kalpohin Anglican JHS, Lamashegu L/A JHS, and Kaladan SDA JHS, that the GNA visited at the time were empty. On July 5, teachers across the nation started a broad-based walkout to press for the payment of the Cost-of-Living Allowance.