Candidates' Weakness

The candidates’ weakness was displayed in questions 2b, 4 and 6. The few candidates that attempted question 2b, which was on sequential description of the brine test for freshness of an egg, performed poorly. Many of them did not know the meaning of brine and so were unable to answer the question. This is an indication that the candidates are poor in the practical aspect of the subject. Majority of candidates avoided question 4 altogether and the few that answered were unable to give meaningful answers to question 4b which requires them to state the effect of too much shortening, too little shortening, too much water and too little water on shortcrust pastry. This is another pointer to candidates’ lack of knowledge in the practical aspect. Question 6b was on points to consider when buying dressed chicken while 6c was the meaning of tripe. Majority of the candidates avoided question 6 and those that attempted it were unable to answer it correctly. Furthermore, candidates also exhibited their weaknesses in their poor expression of ideas and myriad of spelling mistakes.

In order to overcome the above mentioned weaknesses, parents should invest on good text books; the school should equip the laboratory and give three consecutive periods for practical as they do in other practical oriented subjects. Also, candidates must be willing and eager to participate in the Foods and Nutrition practical and must learn to study hard, prepare for examinations and also work on their command of English Language.