The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has expressed concern about the increasing use of pidgin and social media language in students’ WASSCE scripts, warning that this trend is negatively impacting their performance in English. John Kapi, WAEC’s Head of Public Relations, made these remarks during an interview on Channel One TV’s *Breakfast Daily* on Friday.
“If you look at the recent English report, the Chief Examiner noted that many candidates used a lot of pidgin in their responses. There was also heavy use of ‘social media language’ or jargons—expressions commonly found on platforms like WhatsApp, which are not suitable for formal writing,” Kapi explained.
He highlighted that some candidates struggled with fundamental aspects of English, such as spelling and essay writing.
“Particularly in the English paper, some candidates were unable to use standard language, had difficulty with spelling, and failed to employ the appropriate language to write coherent essays,” Kapi added.
He emphasized that tackling this issue requires a concerted effort both at home and within the education system.
“We need to address this issue from the home environment, where children grow up, and also examine whether the school system has adequate support structures to help students develop their language skills. As a society, there is much we must do to ensure our children are positioned to learn effectively,” Kapi said.
His comments underscore the growing concerns about language proficiency and the need for collaborative efforts to improve students' command of standard English in national exams.
Source: MyNewsGh.com
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments