Sierra Leone News: WAEC Holds Seminar on Teaching and Performance of Candidates in Business Studies
By Alusine Sesay
The Freetown Section of the Research Department of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Wednesday February 21, 2018, held a one-day seminar with the theme: “Teaching and Performance of Candidates in Business Studies at BECE Level.”
The seminar which was held at the lower hall of WAEC in Freetown attracted students, teachers and education stakeholders.
In his statement, the Head of National Office of WAEC, Mr Arnold Kamara said that the seminar is in line with WAEC’s policy of close collaboration with schools and other stakeholders in education to promote and sustain quality performances in the Council’s examinations.
He said, “Reflecting on the topic, I am tempted to say that it is quite appropriate and exciting taking cognizance of the performance of candidates at the WASSCE [West African Senior School Certificate Examination] level in the past three years in Business Management which has an advanced component of Business Studies offered at BECE Level.”
“Teaching and learning should complement each other if performance is to be enhanced at public examinations,” he said.
He said the seminar creates a forum for interaction, sharing of ideas and exchange of opinions on the central issues that could be relevant to the topic of discussion.
Mr Kamara spoke about the need to strengthen the Subject Teachers Association in the country; exchange teachers’ visit among subject teachers, and the holding of a periodic seminar on the teaching of some topics in Business Studies.
“To the teachers that are here, I am certain that you will benefit immensely to ensure that you overcome difficulties and develop effective teaching for candidates writing public examinations,” he said.
Acting Head of Research Division, Mr A. Momoh said that seminar was geared towards improving teaching and reducing the number of failure in public examination.
The Chairman of the Seminar, Mr Arthur Oju-Hickson stressed the importance of Business Studies in the job market. He said that Business Studies empowers students to be self-reliant.
Representative of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr Hassan Conteh emphasised that Business Studies empowers students with the skills that will enable them be self-reliant, noting that no government in the world can provide all the jobs for its citizens.
The chief discussant, Mrs C. Ade-Cole, a senior teacher and Head of depart (Tech/Voc), Annie Walsh Memorial School, admonished students to keep to the rules governing the WAEC examinations.
She said that out of 84, 869 candidates that took the Business Studies exams in 2015 at BECE, 13,104 candidates failed the subject; and out of 94,045 candidates that took the subject in 2016, 33,300 failed. She said that some candidates failed the subject because they don’t know how to go about answering questions. He said sometimes, it is not their faults because they were not taught in their schools how to answer questions. She highlights some of the weaknesses of candidates and some of techniques in answering the questions.
Students were taught some relevant topics in Book Keeping such as double entry, trail balance, trading and profit and loss accounts, balance sheet and final accounts, among others.
