NaCCA and WAEC sample questions confusing 2024 BECE candidates: WAEC’s questions not practical enough

The NaCCA and WAEC are confusing 2024 BECE candidates and teachers by using different sample question formats for the BECE, which WAEC will administer in July 2024.

One of the common reasons for avoiding such confusion in the education sector is the recognition by both institutions that teamwork and collaboration are essential to achieving a common goal.

While WAEC, as an independent organisation, is responsible for setting and administering tests for BECE and WASSCE, NaCCA is in charge of curriculum-related issues and development.

NaCCA and WAEC sample questions confusing 2024 BECE candidates: WAEC’s questions not practical enough.

NaCCA released a set of sample questions from its outfit, which you can find here [Download 2024 BECE Sample Questions From GES and MoE

The Ghana Education News later posted the WAEC’s sample questions in the post Download 2024 BECE Sample Questions released by WAEC

According to the NaCCA sample question details, candidates would answer  50 objective test questions; however, the WAEC only displays a maximum of 40 questions in all subjects.

Again, NaCCA released more practical and critical thinking questions across sections A and B of Mathematics, English Language, and Integrated Science. However, a thorough examination of the WAEC-released questions for the same subjects reveals that the section A questions released used the direct question approach. Again, WAEC only provided a few preambles to Section B questions, which do not demand so much critical thinking before candidates can answer the questions.

Furthermore, WAEC combined direct questions with preambles.

The Ministry of Education and NaCCA, following the introduction of the Common Core Curriculum in 2019, have signaled the country’s transition into a new era of curriculum and testing, utilizing practical and critical thinking approaches to assess learners. As a result, learners sitting for the BECE will have to think and apply their knowledge when answering questions.

Without the preambles provided by WAEC, the candidate can still answer the questions without breaking a sweat. This shows that WAEC also did poor work on the setting of practical or critical thinking questions.

Take a look at the RME question below.

SAMPLE A: WAEC’s questions without the preamble

(a) State two differences between Islamic marriage and Christian marriage. (4 marks)
(b) Explain four conditions necessary for an Islamic marriage. (8 marks)
(c) Outline four ways of sustaining marriages. (8 marks)

A candidate can answer these questions without the preamble.

SAMPLE B: WAEC’s questions with the preamble

Rashid and Fati are planning on getting married by Islamic customs. They have done everything a would-be couple would do to have a successful ceremony. They have contacted all the people they needed to so that the day of the ceremony would be memorable. During one of their visit, they met an elderly women who advised them that it is good to have a wonderful ceremony but it will be more memorable if they think of marriage beyond the ceremony.

(a) State two differences between Islamic marriage and Christian marriage. (4 marks)
(b) Explain four conditions necessary for an Islamic marriage. (8 marks)
(c) Outline four ways of sustaining marriages. (8 marks)

The addition of the preamble makes no difference. There is nothing showing candidates will have to think critically to identify and write answers.

CHECK THIS: A better way of asking the WAEC question above for the question to qualify as a critical thinking question is shared below by the Ghana Education News team. The questions give you a hint, which helps you reason. 

Imagine you have a friend by the name Millicent, who comes from a Christian home and her best friend Fati is a Muslim. They ask for your opinion on the elderly woman’s advice regarding the kind of union they can enter into per their religion, as was the case between Adam and Eve as husband and wife.

a. Identify and explain the types of unions they should consider based on their religions.

b. Fati is even confused since she is not aware of the conditions necessary for her kind of union. Explain four of the conditions to her. 

c. Millicent, on the other hand, wants to understand how the unions they are thinking about can be sustained. Help here with any four ways to do that.

From the rephrased question, students are required to explain and apply their knowledge of the conditions necessary for marriage in Christianity and Islam, as well as ways to sustain marriages in different cultural and religious contexts. They first need to identify the two types of marriage, and then explain.

The scenario presented also encourages students to consider the implications of religious beliefs on personal relationships, which can stimulate critical thinking and reflection. The suggested question rephrased is practical and promotes critical thinking, especially when considering the complexities of interfaith relationships and marriages compared to WAEC’s question.

WAEC and NaCCA waited for nearly 4 years before they released conflicting sample questions. An integrated approach to developing sample questions could have provided teachers, schools, and learners with a common sample question, thereby preventing the current confusion.

Clearly, our education agencies and WAEC seem to be working in isolation from each other, hence the current challenge. The two institutions released conflicting information into the public domain, describing different subjects as either compulsory or elective for administering the same BECE, which sparked serious agitation.

In the coming days. both entities must work together to clarify their respective sample questions on the upcoming BECE. NaCCA needs to collaborate with all agencies and organizations whose functions overlap theirs and ensure they work as teams on projects and issues of common interest before they come out with any information.

READ: 2024 BECE RME Sample Questions From WAEC

Is NaCCA an examining body, or does it have test and assessment functions? If not, it must focus on its core mandates and leave the interpretation of the curriculum to WAEC in terms of generating assessment materials that will be based on the spirit and letter of the curriculum produced by NaCCA.