WAEC Results Show Future of Children Under Serious Threat –Minority Leader

The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo Markin, has said the latest West African Examinations Council (WAEC) results must concern every Ghanaian, warning that the future of children is under serious threat.

In a Facebook post, he said some 183,233 young people completed secondary school without a credit in Core Mathematics, while the credit pass rate in English Language fell to 62.40 per cent, its lowest level in four years.

He noted that performance in both subjects remains below the levels recorded in 2024.

Afenyo-Markin also raised concerns over school placement, stating that nearly 55,000 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates were initially denied automatic placement.

According to him, there are reports of children wrongly placed in special schools and others arriving at their assigned schools only to find no space, despite the government’s own figures showing 859,828 vacancies for 623,072 candidates, while 85 private schools participating in Free SHS also have capacity.

“A self-placement portal is not a school place; every child needs an actual seat in a functioning classroom,” he stated.

The Minority Leader said more than 200,000 young Ghanaians are therefore at risk of being left behind at both ends of the secondary school system.

He called on the government to stop reacting only when problems become public, and to publish the final placement outcomes, explain the rules and pass marks applied, properly fund teaching and remedial programmes, and provide clear pathways into TVET, apprenticeships and skills training for those who did not obtain the required WASSCE credits.

He believes the Mahama government is expected to treat the situation as a major national crisis requiring immediate action and lasting solutions.

He said Ghana urgently needs an honest national conversation about educational funding, teaching quality, contact hours, teacher motivation, learning materials, infrastructure and supervision, adding that this must rise above partisan excuses because the future of an entire generation is at stake.

“The 54,985 BECE candidates need real school places; the 183,233 WASSCE graduates need a second chance,” he said.

“Mr President, parents are worried, children are anxious, and teachers are under pressure. When our children’s education is in crisis, Ghana’s future is in danger. The time to act is now,” Dr Forson added.

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