by Alhaji Alhasan Abdulai
The Ghana Blind Union along with the rest of the country express shock and disappointment at the cancelation of the recent BECE. This was as a result of the leakage of the examination questions which we of the GBU greatly abhor. However, the GBU has further concerns pertaining to the issue of blanket cancelation and its negative impact on the lives of innocent students including the blind children who unfortunately had their papers canceled.
Due to the available evidence the WAEC established beyond all reasonable doubts that the questions did indeed leak. It was further alleged that this was made more widespread through the use of social media platforms like whatsup and facebook. The GBU is of the view that it is very likely that blind children of the special schools do not have access to social media. Blind persons read braille and answer their examination question in the same format. Thus it is highly unlikely that questions transmitted by social media platforms would have come to these children. Unfortunately, it appears that the WAEC and the Education authorities find it convenient to sacrifice the future of these children by making them pay for something which was clearly outside their knowledge. We consider This situation to be most unfair.
We also wish to point out that apart from the normal frustrations; the blind child has additional issues to contend with at school. Due to the nature of braille and the fact that blind children do very little incidental learning, it takes the blind child at least three times longer to read and cover the same material that his or her sighted counterpart. Even this is only with the assumption that the reading materials like textbooks are available in the first place. Most blind children go through the educational spiral without textbooks and very limited braille reading material, which is provided by their dedicated and deeply hard working teachers. Despite this situation, they virtually take the same exams and compete for the limited available places in the senior secondary Schools. In addition, they are required to provide their own answer sheets if they are to write the papers which they have registered and paid to take. If for any reason, the school is unable to provide these papers, they lose the chance to write.
In all these, the GBU is not calling for special privileges. All we want is a fair levelling of the playing field, so that all candidates blind or not are given equal opportunity.
Finally, we also ought to consider the Psychological and financial implications of this blanket decision. Unlike most basic schools which are day schools, the basic schools for blind children are boarding facilities. The implication of the cancelation is that the children would have to spend extra periods in school in order to take the exams. Of course, this would have financial implications on the school as well as the parents of the children, something which they may not be prepared for.
GBU calls on the West Africa Exams Council, the Ministry of Education, and the Ghana Education Service to take another look at the situation again. It is necessary to avoid taking a blanket decision that would negatively affect those who are clearly innocent of the practice.
For whatever way you look at it, it is wrong to make the innocent suffer with the guilty. GBU is confident that the best decision will be taken in the interest of the blind candidate and the Nation as a whole.
Mrs Ayishatu Abdul Karim
National President
Ghana Blind Union
Tel: 0209713198
SOURCE:
Executive Director
EANFOWORLD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
244 370345/ 0264370345/0208844791 [email protected]/[email protected]
