Former Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) Charles Yaw Aheto-Tsegah has expressed little surprise at the result of the 2018 West Africa Senior Schools Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

He says the results reflect the kind of education received by students over the period they were in the classroom.

The 2018 WASSCE results, released on Friday, July 13 by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), recorded a drop in performance in English Language and Mathematics.

There was a marginal improvement, however, in Social Studies and Integrated Science.

But generally, about 60 per cent are said to have performed below standard in a combined aggregate of the four core subjects.

This has seen agitation within government with a meeting already held with GES.

But speaking on TV3’s New Day on Saturday, Mr Aheto-Tsegah said expectations should be lowered for the current crop of students.

“We expect too much from our children over a short period.”

He said even the talk about the simulation of the economy, quite recently, affects education, putting the student in danger.

According to him, options available to students at the secondary level have been totally overshadowed by senior high school.

The former GES director called for a re-alignment of government’s policies to see persons interested in technical education also able to pursue their dreams.

Teacher and Educationist Professor Cletus Dordunoo, who was also on the programme, said emphasis should not be placed too much on the duration but on content from teacher to student.

He argued that the same period of education continues to produce the scientists, pharmacists and IT professionals, who are on top of their jobs.

But Prof Dordunoo wants those who merit the grammar to be given their choice while those for the technical programmes to also pursue their dreams with much effort put into educating both well.