Abstract
In recent times, parents and other stakeholders in the field of education have expressed worries regarding the poor performance of pupils in rural and public schools in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) compared to their counterparts in urban and private schools in Ghana. This study examines the performance trends of urban, rural, public and private Junior High Schools in the BECE over a 5-year period. The study made use of secondary data which reflected the indicators of pupils’ performance in the BECE. The data obtained were analysed using percentages, frequency counts, and time-series graphs. The findings of this research showed that the proportion of pupils who passed the BECE in rural schools were less than those who passed in the urban schools in Ghana. It was further observed that although the performance trends for both public and private schools were not so different for 2016, 2017, and 2018, more pupils in public than private schools passed the BECE. Based on the findings, the Ministry of Education and all relevant stakeholders in the area of education are encouraged to ensure equitable distribution of resources in terms of infrastructure, teaching and learning resources, adequate and competent teachers to both urban and rural schools to promote the enhancement of pupils’ performance in rural schools.
Highlights
The success and growth of every nation depend substantially on the quality of education provided to its citizens [1]
We looked at performance trends in Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) using the final year junior high school (JHS) pupils’ best six grades
From 2014 to 2018, pupils who sat for BECE in the selected rural schools ranged from 1,204 to 1,287, and those in the urban schools ranged from 1,322 to 1,444
Summary
The success and growth of every nation depend substantially on the quality of education provided to its citizens [1] This explains why Sustainable Development Goal 4 stresses equitable and inclusive quality education for all [2]. Basic education is the only level of education that is available everywhere, both in developed and developing countries as well as in urban and rural areas [4]. This explains why basic education is the largest subsector of any education system and offers the unique opportunity to contribute to the transformation of societies through the education of young ones [5]
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