Candidates' Weaknesss

Candidates exhibited a number of weaknesses such as incorrect spellings; inability to interpret questions, express ideas correctly, answer questions with straightforward answers; and above all, lack of knowledge of the subject. Furthermore, candidates also displayed their weaknesses in questions 2c, 3 and 6. In 2 (c), candidates were unable to list the equipment used in gueridon service and their uses.  Question 3 was not popular among the candidates, they were to list, explain and give examples of the types of customers in catering industry. Across all marking venues, very few candidates attempted this question and they all performed poorly, it was a total guess work as candidates gave irrelevant responses. Question 6 was widely attempted but performance was poor. Candidates were unable to define the term cover,state its characteristics and list the accompaniments suitable for every cover.

Candidates poor performance may be owing to the fact most classroom teachers for Catering Craft Practice are not Catering Craft professionals. Many of the said teachers studied Home Economics and thus are not grounded in the subject, they teach with the idea from Foods and Nutrition which is very different from catering craft. In addition, teachers and students are yet to fully comprehend that Catering Craft varies greatly from Foods and Nutrition and that the technical terms are different for both subjects. In some schools, the same set of students’ offer both subjects and they are being taught by the same teacher, they treat both subject like they are the same and use the same textbooks. Also, the textbooks used in some schools does not have a wide coverage of the syllabus and this reflected in the number of questions attempted and the manner of answering those questions.

In order to overcome the weaknesses, teachers should endeavour to study before teaching the students and ensure they teach all the topics in the examination syllabus. Also, teachers should prepare candidates on the appropriate techniques of answering questions especially in order to catch up on the new constrained approach to WASSCE papers. In the same vein, candidates should strive to have in depth knowledge of the subject; they should take advantage of technology for productive research on the subject matter; study hard, prepare for examinations and also work on their command of English Language.