AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PERFOMANCE OF E.

J GOODRIGE TWELVE
GRADE IN WASSCE FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS (2020-2022)

PAPER

IN

PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT

OF REQUIREMENT FOR THE COURSE:

FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION (EDUC 330)

PRESENTED TO:

AMBRUSE FAITH JOEL SANDY

LIBERIA BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

PRESENTED BY:

AMOS W. QUAYE

ID# 2111005

October 13, 2022

 Table of contents

Page

1. Introduction-------------------------------------------------1

2. Poverty--------------------------------------------------------1

3. Gender--------------------------------------------------------2

4. Conclusion---------------------------------------------------5

5. Recommendation------------------------------------------5

6. `References ----------------------------------------
Introduction:

Liberia as the oldest African country founded in the early 1800s by an American organization

called American Colonization Society (ACS) is still struggling to meet the minimum regional

education bench mark. In nineteen fifty-two, Four West African countries passed a resolution

establishing the West African Examination Council (WAEC). Twenty-two years after its

establishment, Liberia joined the council in nineteen seventy-four.1 The purpose of WAEC is to

improve the quality of education in the region. Over the years, the Liberian students examination

writing has been marred by controversy ranking from collusion to leakage. In twenty twenty-one,

the WAEC Liberia office withheld thirty percent of the results for malpractices and collusion.2

According to the registrar of the E. J. Goodridge High School, in twenty twenty- twenty twenty-

one, two hundred ten students were registered to write the said period WASSCE, seventy-five of

the registered students are female and one hundred thirty-five are male. He said, out of the

number that wrote the test sixty students passed the exam. Out of the sixty who passed the exam

twenty-two are female and thirty-eight are male

This paper investigation discovered three main reason for the dismal performance of the E.J.

Goodridge twelve graders in WASSCE. The paper also made some subjections to stake holders

to be considered if Liberia is to advance in education.

1
Liberiawaec.org
2
Frontpageafrica
1.
1. Poverty.

According to HB Ferguson, School readiness reflects a child’s ability to succeed both

academically and socially in a school environment.3 This he said requires physical well-being

and appropriate motor development, emotional health and a positive approach to new

experiences, age-appropriate social knowledge and competence, age-appropriate language skills,

and age-appropriate general knowledge and cognitive skills. He noted that poverty decreases a

child’s readiness for school through aspects of health, home life, schooling and neighborhoods.

The E. J. Goodridge High School is a Public institution located in the Barnersville Housing

Estate. It holds over two thousand students. Ninety-nine percent of the students are children of

downtrodden parents. Many of the parents are unemployed and those who are employed cannot

afford to meet the family daily needs.

The Liberian education policy requires that a child school readiness begins at three years and at

five or at most six years a child should be in first year of grade school. Poverty retards E.

Jonathan Goodridge parents’ abilities to prepare their kids at school readiness age. As the result

of not starting school early at the E. Jonathan High School, creates a condition for accelerative

learning. In this form of learning, classes are compounded and labelled level one, level two and

level three. Level one is the combination of first and second grades, level two is the combination

of third and fourth grades and level three contains fifth and sixth grades. Combined-class system

is difficult to implement in large schools with heavy population.4 At E. Jonathan Goodrige High

3
HB Ferguson
4
Educy.co
2.
school a single class contains more than one hundred fifty students. A foundational academic

skills like reading, writing, and math facilitate more specialized learning in the future.

Additionally, the elementary school years provide a foundation for social and emotional

development that prepares them for middle school, high school and college.5

With the system of education at the E Jonathan Goodridge High School, many students who

went through the combined class system are likely to be the ones having difficulties in public test

(WAEC).

Gender:
When it comes to education, some parents are primitive on choosing what is right for their
children. They prevent their female children from going to school. 6
In most parts of Africa including Liberia, female’s ability to receive quality education is

challenged by tradition and early pregnancy.

The Western Education which was introduced in Liberia in late 1800s by churches that came to

propagate the words of God, felt that the spreading of God’s words will be hampered by the

indigenous’ inabilities to read and write therefore, the creation of schools in the hinterland was

inevitable. Schools were created but females were absent from schools for some obvious reason:

tradition. The traditional believe in Liberia and many African countries and or Muslim countries

is that Wester Education was not met for a female child because the female child’s responsibility

is to keep the home and if she left, the home will be unkempt.

Many of the twelve grade female students at the E.J. Goodridge High School are either living

with their fiancé or married spouse.

5
Jennsblahblahblog.com
6
Vanguardngr.com
3.
UNICEF listed several barriers to girl’s education, among them is child marriage.7

Marriage is an institution that has its own tension. In marriage you are to cater for the home

including your children and your husband. It is difficult to score your required grades while you

are facing your home tension and at the same time the school tension.

Before the coming into power of President Ellen Johnson Sieleaf, female’s attendance was at all

times lower than that of her male counterpart.

President Sieleaf as Africa’s first female president tried her best to increase female attendance in

schools.

As the number of attendance increased another challenge of premature pregnancy posed another

condition to the female quest for quality education.

For those females who do not want to waste all of their gestation period, end up in night schools

where education is lower in terms of quality.

It is unarguably true that the same school buildings used in the day are the same buildings used in

the night, the same teachers in the day are the same teachers in the night but what cause the low

value are the Teachers exhaustion and poor lighting.

Many of the teachers who teach in the night sometimes teach two to three different schools in the

morning and afternoon before reaching the night section.

By the time they get to the night section, they are already exhausted.

Poor lighting is one major factor that hinders post-war night schools. Prior to the civil war in Liberia,

electricity was supplied twenty-four hours. In this case, night school operation was smooth and ran

with ease.

7
UNICEF gender action plan 2022-2025
4.
Since the cessation of the war, free flow of electricity has been in fluctuation. Sometimes schools

operating night schools may not have classes for days because of lack of current.

Conclusion

The importance of education in society has always been great as it is irrespective of caste, race,

gender, religion.

Educated people are treated as equals on the basis of their knowledge and competence. In

addition to this, educated people are open-minded and are able to listen and accept other people’s

views regardless of the fact of how different they are. Education offers a possibility to live

independently and thus be free. It is our shelter against financial storms and wrong

decisions. Liberia is lacking behind in virtually every things because of the level and quality of

education delivered to her citizens.

It is time that everyone gets involved in the “each one teach one” campaign so that those who are

very far behind can come closer.

Recommendation

If Liberia is to regain her status in the comity of nations, it is high time polities is taken out of

education and avoid business as usual. Those settlers who settled in Liberia and ruled the country

for century, came with new slavery mentality by perpetually keeping the native man as a servant.

They did this by creating poor facilities for the native man. For instance education facilities, poor

housing, poor roads connectivity.

For decades now, the leadership of the country has been in the hands of the natives. The leaders

must desist from the settlers’ mentality. The settler saw Liberia as a farm where he came to

harvest and returned to the city with the produce for enjoyment. Native leaders must see Liberia

as the only place they have and treat it with all sincerity.
 -5-

References:

1 liberiawaec.org

2. frontpageafrica 2021, waec liberia release results

3.h.b. Ferguson, 2011, school readiness

4. educy.co

5.jennsblahblahblog.com

6.vanguardngr.com

7.UNICEF 2022-2025 gender action plan

-6-