What Went Wrong With Education In Buluk?

Schools in Buluk used to record some of the best grades in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) a few years ago (almost a decade ago). So what happened and the same cannot be said of today? I can vividly remember that in our time, we used to count the number of subjects one recorded a grade 'one', to be able to determine who was the best student in their school. It was so interesting! The teachers were always proud of such students.

 I can still remember that we used to be punished to learn. I can remember one occasion where, while we were learning Ghanaian Language, I was motivated by the teacher in front of the whole class because none of them could read what was on the chalkboard apart from me. After the incident, almost all the class gathered around me to be taught how to read (in order to avoid a 'next time'). They were not shy to come and learn, although some were real grown-ups! I used the opportunity as a revision for myself.

Education is the future.

On another occasion while in class five, I came third in the class during an end of term exam and was whipped seriously by our class teacher as if I was the last in the class. The teacher wanted me to come first or second.

I also recall how school prefects used to cane us for coming to school late and also for spotting us in town at night (if a teacher sees you, it got worse). All these instilled discipline in us and helped us to discriminate between good and bad. We got engaged with our books to a point that, we treated them like living things (I still recall using newspapers to cover my books to prevent them from getting dirty).

Apart from the measures above, I also remember we used to hold inter-school quiz competitions, where the "best brains" from each school used to meet on a single platform to defend our schools. It was one of the most interesting things I used to like so much. I can also remember that we used to partake in cultural activities (Ayieta school used to win in most of these activities, including the quizzes). We were always proud of ourselves whenever we were called to represent our schools in any competition.

So, what has become of all these great ideas to enhance learning in our basic schools? What has become of the inter-school quizzes, debates, discipline, drill, drama clubs and sporting activities? What has become of the healthy rivalry that once existed between schools (Ayieta and Preparatory schools especially)? What has become of the disciplinarians and discipline in our schools?