I gained admission into the university of Ghana (UG) in 2010. Around the same time, the university changed it’s grading system.
Under the new system ;
A= 80 – 100,
B+= 75 – 79,
B= 70 – 74,
C+= 65 – 69,
C= 60 – 64,
D+= 55 – 59,
D= 50 – 54,
E= 45 – 49,
F = 0 – 44.
1st class = 3.60 – 4.00
Second class upper = 3.00 – 3.59
Second lower = 2.00 – 2.99
Third class = 1.50 – 1.99
Pass = 1.00 – 1.49
Fail = 0.00 – 0.99
Truth is, this grading system to a large extent defeats some aspects of University Education vis-a-vis socialization and other extra curriculum activities.
This obviously isn’t an easy task. To add more salt to the already spicy food, I remember how I always wrote interim assessments and end-of-semester exams under very active CCTV CAMERAS. The human element with respect to investigation was very much alive as well. Combining Economics and Geography & Resource Development was indeed an eyesore! This Legon system isn’t “b3t33 kraaa”.
One will be an idiot to copy or ask a friend for assistance in such a situation. That’s the legon system for you. Under this strict system, I counted it all joy when I made an A in a subject. For now, I know of the University of Ghana being the only place Students write IAs and End of Semister Exams under CCTV cameras.
The University of Cape Coast grading system is similar if not equal to that of the University of Ghana apart from the second lower part of the degree classification. Whereas in legon a second lower is from 2.00 to 2.99 in UCC it’s rather from 2.50 to 2.99. The Ashesi University College with respect to their grading system goes the UCC way.
Now watch this, Under the Ghana Telecom University (GTUC) system;
A= 70 – 100
B= 60 – 69
C= 50 – 59
D= 40 – 49
F= 0 – 39
1st class = 70 – 100
2nd class upper = 60 – 69
2nd class lower = 50 – 59
3rd class = 40 – 49
Pass = 0 – 39
It must be noted that KNUST uses same system. Unlike the UG or UCC which has a maximum Final Grade Point average of 4.00 GTUC or KNUST has a Cummulative Weighted Average of 100.
The maximum Final Grade Point Average (FGPA) that can be made in both UG and UCC is 4.00. The maximum CWA that can be made in KNUST or GTUC is 100. Mathematically, a final FGPA of 100% in GTUC OR KNUST is Equal to 4.00 from UG or UCC.
Assuming Rosemary graduates from the KNUST with a CWA of 64 she would have made a Second Upper but when same is converted to the UG or UCC system Rosemary drops to a second lower. Another example, Hilda graduates from UG with an FGPA of 2.80 and according to the UG system Hilda only qualifies for a second lower but when same is converted to the KNUST system Hilda jumps to first class with a CWA of 70.
For converting a Cumulative weighted Average to a 4.0 GPA, Let’s use x to represent the percentage. The formula to use when converting a percentage into a GPA (with a scale of 4.0) is (x/20) – 1 = GPA.
Just by eye inspection of the above one can clearly see that the GTUC and KNUST system is very much relaxed. This clearly tells that a first class from these Universities can never be seen as equal to that from UG or UCC.
In the year 2000, UCC had a Vice Chancellor by name Rev. Prof. Agyepong, in that year the university turned out over 2000 students with ONLY 9 of them distinguishing themselves MAKING FIRST CLASS. Comparatively, the University of Ghana graduated close to 3000 students with about 200 of them in the first class bracket.
7 years later Rev. Prof. Agyapong becomes the president of the Methodist University and at a ceremony where 150 students are graduating, 30 first classes were recorded. There is something obviously wrong somewhere! Indeed, if entry grades are things to go by, we are all aware that entry grades for the three Public Universities ARE ALWAYS better than those of students who enter the private universities.
The FACT IS, most students who could not gain admission to the public universities due to their weaker grades apply to the private universities for admissions. If it is logical that entering a university with a weaker grade predisposes one to pass out with a concomitantly weaker pass, then what has happened in the case of Methodist University? Is it so because of the exorbitant fees private universities pay?
I once worked with someone who went to a university and made a first class but couldn’t even operate a computer.
I am beginning to understand why the university of Ghana Vice Chancellor-Prof Ernest Ayittey somewhere in 2015 on radio Universe made a statement suggesting that a Third Class From UG Will Be Better Appreciated On The Market Than A First Class From Other Universities.
The percentages of graduates achieving first class vary greatly by university and even with course studied. Fact is, students of Economics, philosophy, Languages and Law are least likely to gain a first class, whereas students of Business Administration are most likely to gain a first class.
After my national service in August 2015, I developed a desire for diligently going through job advertisements. I have noticed a trend. This trend worries me. This trend somehow also marvels me. Few weeks after the end of my service I saw a job advertisement by Guarantee trust bank (GTbank) online. They wanted graduates who had completed their service in 2015 and not more than 25years. Upon seeing those two I was elated until I saw the third criteria. A criteria that made me swallow saliva and after sit properly to read again. “MUST HAVE A SECOND CLASS UPPER OR BETTER”. At this point I asked myself “Do they want competence or they are recruiting people to teach?” After that a follow up question came in mind “Does Academic Excellence ensure competence in the job?” This criteria I find very strange. A not-fair and biased criteria.
Total Ghana also did a recruitment same year which took same dimension.
This injustice in the system inspired me to write this piece.
It seems to be COMMON PLACE. Human Resource Managers now have a soft spot for academically excellent students! Most, if not all, have grown to believe that there is a direct relationship between academic excellence and success on the job and even in life as a whole. I beg to differ!
I believe university education is to give one a critical and analytical mind. It is a stage where the mind should and must be developed. At the University of Ghana, all first year students are made to offer a University Required course titled “Critical Thinking and Practical Reasoning”. If one fails in this course they WILL not qualify for graduation. This should be the essence of university education.
Today, the concept of developing the mind is gradually eroding in our universities. Students are gradually losing focus on developing their minds and rather concerned in making an employable class or a class Human resource persons will greatly appreciate. It is of no surprise that students now have an insatiable penchant for “chew and pour” now, than any time in history.
The degree class is seen as the definitive mark of achievement by many Human Resource Managers or employers. But then again, is working and studying same? One can be good in the latter and poor in the former!
I do not write to say a first class or even a second upper isn’t good. It is very important to go to school, get a good education, and graduate with a “fantastic class as first class”. Such an achievement also provides a tactual evidence that colleagues, family and the wider public use to judge a person as more or less “successful”.
For the system now, It virtually gives you a “machine-driven” advantage from the stage of job application to the next level. There is a ginormous amount of personal worth and gratification that comes with a first class degree. A first class at the university is incontestably valuable for what it is worth.
Also, it must be noted that, indeed many have shown that going to a good school or getting a first class doesn’t equal success in life or at work.
This practice of degree classification being a requirement has for a long time unduly stigmatised students. It is unreflective of a graduate’s success. It also doesn’t show a graduate’s potential for success, PARTICULARLY AT THE WORKPLACE.
In my about two months reading on this, I am yet to come across a research supporting the view i seek to write against. Academic success and doing good on a job don’t always come hand in hand. In fact, in some cases, they are mutually exclusive.
Research rather show the opposite. Those who have fallen short of academic brilliance are often better employees and even go ahead to become better managers because they are more rounded individuals who work well in a team among others. Education and employment experts have broadly agreed that all-rounders usually make the best workers. If so, why this “Rambo” style of recruiting?
I can confidently say HR people who use this very technique are at best VERY LAZY. Their aim is to cut down on the huge numbers who will be applying. Should it be all about cutting down on the numbers or looking for the best hands? This is a tragedy. A tragedy of gigantic proportions! Allowing the transcript to do its job without asking for class won’t be a bad idea.
In the book MONEYBALL, which records the story of the baseball manager Billy Beane. Given evidence show that the metrics historically used to determine the value of a player did not best correspond to his value on the field. Beane made a series of hires which turned the cash-strapped Oakland Athletics into a surprise success. So, in the absence of any evidence that degree-class is a predictor of value, why don’t HR people follow Moneyball and hire more inventively?
Somewhere in 2015, Ernst & Young, one of UK’s biggest graduate recruiters, announced it will from 2016 be removing the degree classification from its entry criteria; saying, there is “no evidence” success at university correlates with achievements in later life.
Maggie Stilwell, Ernst & Young’s managing partner for talent, said the company would use online assessments to judge the potential of applicants. “Academic qualifications will still be taken into account and indeed remain an important consideration when assessing candidates as a whole, BUT WILL NO LONGER ACT AS A BARRIER TO GETTING A FOOT IN THE DOOR. “Our own internal research of over 400 graduates found that, screening based on academic performance was too blunt an approach to recruitment. It found no evidence to conclude that previous success in higher education correlated with future success in subsequent professional qualifications undertaken”, she said. Ernst & Young is the fifth largest recruiter of graduates in the UK.
At this point I take a different dimension. Let me introduce you to seven notable names out of the over fifty I read about before this piece.
1) Bill Gates
2)Mark Zuckerberg
3)Walt Disney
4)Richard Branson 5)Michael Dell
6)Steve Jobs
7)Thomas Edison
Bill Gates is the Owner of Microsoft corporation, the world’s largest software company. Dropped out of Harvard to focus on building Microsoft. According to Forbes magazine, Bill Gates is the richest human being to ever live. Bill Gates makes about 120,000 times more money per second than the average american on a median-salary day job. He earned $11.5 billion in 2015, which works out to be $33.3 million per day, $1.38 million per hour, $23,148 per minute and $385.8 per second.
Mark Zuckerberg: He is the youngest billionaire in the world, dropped out of Harvard to promote his social networking platform: Facebook. As at 2010, he was 23 years and worth $4billion.
Walt Disney: He’s regarded as the most influential animator because of his creativity with cartoons. He dropped out of high school at 16 and founded Walt Disney; a company which now has an annual revenue of about $30billion. That’s about half the GDP of Ghana!
Richard Branson: Best known for his adventurous spirit and outrageous business tactics. He dropped out of school at the age of 16. He is the billionaire founder of the Virgin brand and its 360 companies. His companies include the famous Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Michael Dell: He dropped out of college at the age of 19 to start PC’s Limited; later renamed Dell Computers Inc. Dell became the most profitable PC manufacturer in the world making Michael Dell a billionaire.
Steve Jobs: Billionaire co-founder of Apple Inc and Pixar; dropped out of Reed College to start Apple.
Thomas Edison: Thomas Edison was labeled dumb and scatterbrain by his school teachers but he went on to become one of the world’s greatest inventors and founded General Electric; one of the most powerful companies in the world.
These individuals not only own but manage or have managed some of the biggest and powerful companies the world has ever known. The question I ask is, were they “SECOND CLASS UPPER OR BETTER STUDENTS?
The answer: “THEY ARE ALL DROPOUTS”. If these individuals and many out there do not have university degrees but are billionaires, then it goes to further expose HR people.
In the end, Life in the milky way doesn’t taste like Baileys. Same way, not every academically Excellent student will be a great employee. We need to be more radical. HRs must stop this strategy of elimination by rough tactics. They must be innovative when recruiting.
Archibald Frimpong
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Many thanks goes to Rosemary A. Poku, Maame Fowaa, Kwesi Annan and Claudia Adom for their continuous advice and words of encouragement.
Credits;
m.wikihow.com/Convert-a-Percentage-into-a-4.0-Grade-Point-Average
http://m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/7932590
http://www.mytopbusinessideas.com/school-drop-out-billionaires-successful-entrepreneurs/
Archibald Frimpong 