‘We are our own worst enemies’ – Dr Yaw Adutwum reacts to 2026 WASSCE results

Former Education Minister and Bosomtwe MP, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has expressed concern over Ghana’s education system following the release of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results.

Dr Adutwum has argued that politicians themselves sometimes worsen the country’s education challenges by turning examination results into partisan political weapons rather than focusing on solutions.

“We are our own worst enemies,” he said, criticising the tendency of politicians to attribute good or bad examination results to whichever political party is in power.

‘Politicians are our own worst enemies’

According to Dr Adutwum, Ghana’s political class needs to approach education with greater responsibility.

He recalled how strong examination performances in previous years were sometimes dismissed by political opponents as evidence of examination malpractice, rather than being celebrated as achievements for the country.

His argument is that such partisan interpretations ultimately do little to improve learning outcomes.

Instead, he believes politicians should work together to identify weaknesses in the education system and provide interventions that can help students perform better.

Poor results point to deeper problems

Dr Adutwum has described the poor performance in some core subjects as a serious national concern.

He pointed particularly to Mathematics and English Language, arguing that weaknesses in these subjects can have serious consequences for students seeking admission to tertiary institutions.

In his assessment, the problem should not be discovered only after students have written their final examinations.

The education system, he argues, must identify struggling students much earlier and provide targeted support before they reach the WASSCE stage.

‘You don’t wait till WASSCE’

The former Education Minister has advocated a stronger system of continuous assessment and academic monitoring.

He believes schools should be able to identify students who are consistently struggling with particular subjects and intervene while they are still in school.

Dr Adutwum has also proposed a transcript system that would provide a cumulative record of students’ academic performance throughout their secondary education.

Such a system, he argues, would allow teachers and schools to identify learning gaps early rather than waiting for a single final examination to determine a student’s future.

Calls for resits and stronger teacher support

Dr Adutwum has further advocated opportunities for students to retake subjects they fail, similar to arrangements in tertiary institutions.

He believes students who repeatedly struggle with Mathematics, English or other subjects should receive additional support and opportunities to improve before leaving the education system.

He has also called for stronger teacher professional development, particularly following concerns about students using social media expressions and informal language in formal examination scripts.

According to him, teachers should be equipped to identify such weaknesses during classroom assessments and guide students before they sit external examinations.

A political lesson from the results

For Dr Adutwum, the debate surrounding the WASSCE results should go beyond blaming one government or another.

His “we are our own worst enemies” argument is essentially a call for politicians to stop using education outcomes primarily as ammunition against their opponents.

Instead, he wants the country to focus on what the results reveal about teaching, learning, assessment and student support.

The former minister’s comments have therefore reignited a wider debate about whether Ghana’s education system is doing enough to identify struggling students before they reach the crucial WASSCE stage.

The bigger challenge

Ghana’s latest examination performance has once again exposed the need for sustained interventions rather than short-term reactions whenever results are released.

For Dr Adutwum, the solution lies in earlier intervention, stronger teacher development, continuous assessment, better academic counselling and giving struggling students opportunities to recover.

The political class, he suggests, must also take responsibility for changing the nature of the debate.

Because when education becomes another battlefield for partisan politics, the students — rather than the politicians — ultimately bear the consequences.