Former President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu, has called for increased attention and investment in public basic schools to address declining student performance in English language.
His comments follow a steady decline in the proportion of candidates obtaining grades A1 to C6 in English Language in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The pass rate fell from 73.11% in 2023 to 69.52% in 2024, 69% in 2025 and further to 62.40% in 2026.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has linked the decline to poor reading habits, grammatical weaknesses, and the increasing use of informal language on social media among candidates.
Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, John Kapi, noted that while candidates recorded an overall improvement in their 2026 WASSCE results compared with the previous year, English Language recorded a decline.
“The results have been an improvement on the previous year’s performance except for English Language, which saw a decline.”
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point, Mr Carbonu attributed the persistent challenge partly to what he described as an excessive focus on senior high school education at the expense of basic education.
He argued that greater resources and attention must be directed towards literacy and numeracy at the basic school level, describing the two areas as the foundation of the entire education system.
“Concentration on our public basic schools in this country will have to increase and increase tremendously,” he suggested.
According to Mr Carbonu, the government must improve infrastructure at public basic schools while providing adequate teaching and learning materials and creating conditions that motivate teachers to deliver effectively.
He questioned the level of proficiency in English, literacy and numeracy among pupils by the time they reach the upper primary level.
“How many children, as at the time they get to Class Four in primary school, are proficient in English language, literacy and numeracy? These are the foundations of education.”
He maintained that students who develop serious weaknesses in English Language and Mathematics at the basic school level may struggle to overcome those deficiencies when they progress to senior high school.
“If your English is bad, your English is bad. If your mathematics is bad, your mathematics is bad.”
Mr Carbonu further described the poor teaching and learning outcomes in English Language and Mathematics as a longstanding challenge that requires sustained investment and attention rather than short-term interventions.
“The teaching of Maths and English in our schools is an age-old problem.”
Fix foundation before SHS
He said strengthening basic education would help reduce the burden on senior high schools, which often have to spend considerable time addressing foundational learning gaps among students.
Mr Carbonu believes that ensuring pupils acquire strong literacy and numeracy skills before progressing to the second-cycle level would ultimately improve learning outcomes across the education system.
“If we get that right, we will not be running over ourselves in the senior high school.”
