Ghanaian makes waves in Italy

Relaxing behind my computer, I recalled that in the 80s we went to primary one to primary six, moved on to secondary form one to form five, sat for the GCE ‘O’ Level and then to lower 6 and upper 6. Subsequently, students wrote the GCE ‘A’ Level exam to enter universities polytechnics or other such institutions.

That means when anyone entered class one at age six, he or she would do six years of basic education in the preparatory school system, five years of secondary education to write ‘O’ level and two years for ‘A’ level. a student would have attained the age of 19 before entering the university.

This system is still operational in the United Kingdom. However, it has changed over the years in some countries.

Ghanaian and Italian education system

Presently, in Ghana, after primary six, a pupil goes through three years of junior high school and three years of senior high school. So we have a different scenario altogether. By primary six, a pupil would have turned 12 from which point he/she would do three years of junior high school followed by another years for senior high school.  So then by 18 years or sometimes less, a student enters the university or any tertiary institution.

Doing a little comparative analysis, in Verona Italy, where I live now and have all my four children in school, the academic calendar is quite different.

In Italy the primary school is from one to five, then five years of junior high school and five years of senior high school. So age wise, a student completes primary, which they call elementary, at age 11 and does additional 10 years of  junior and senior high schools and enters the university or technical school or cooking institution or nursing at the age of 21. 

I got interested in Italy’s school calendar when my children started schooling here, having left the shores of Ghana in June 2011.  All three boys entered the Italian school and had extra classes in the Italian language alongside, since the Italian language is the only medium of instruction in the schools and the only means of communication in the country. just a little time for English lessons as part of the school curriculum.

Emmanuel makes waves

Now to the crux of the subject. My little son and third boy Emmanuel Kwame Sarpong Agyeman, who started his primary one in Ghana precisely at Grace Preparatory School, at First Light, Kaneshie, was 10 years old in primary five and about to go to primary six  when we had to leave Ghana to join their father in Verona, Italy. The headmistress of Grace Preparatory School, Mrs Adokpoh, was initially concerned when Emmanuel was leaving the school because he was one of the brilliant chaps.

He had to repeat primary five in Verona because they don’t have class six like we have in Ghana.

The classteacher did a good job by pairing him with a Ghanaian and a Nigerian pupil to help him with the language after school. After a month he started speaking Italian and started understanding the subjects little by little.

At one of the extra classes after school, the two pupils who were helping Emmanuel were surprised at how he understood and solved a maths homework given them.

At home he studied the language all by himself. He watched Italian cartoons and learnt a lot of vocabulary from them.

Then he entered the junior high school called Scuola Media. Emmanuel entered the first year in September 2012.  From the first year, he started surprising the teachers with his performance, especially when he had just entered Italy in June 2011.

Then in the second year he studied so hard during the long vacation at home that when school reopened he had all his vacation assignments ready. Throughout his second year he made sure he had a maximum mark of 100 per cent and minimum of 80 per cent.

Then in the third year he told himself and us (his parents) that he was aiming at 100 per cent in mathematics, science, literature, history and other subjects. And he did just that.

He was prepared then for the final examinations, the equivalent of Basic Education Ceritificate Examination ( BECE) in Ghana called Licenza Media here in Italy.

The final exam is all different here as the examination is conducted by the teachers and they use the Continuous Assessment System. Students write exams in only mathematics, English and science.  Then they are made to do a research into topical issues. Italian students write about 15 pages on subjects such as water, air and the earth.

The achievement
Foreigners are requested to do a detailed thesis on their home country, so a Sri Lankan, Moroccan, Ghanaian or Nigerian pupil write details, about 15 pages, on their home country. 

So Emmanuel wrote a paper on Ghana and afterwards presented a portion of it verbally to a panel of teachers of the school, Santa Lucia Quartier school of Verona Italy.

At the end of the final exams, he was adjudged the best student in the school and in the Media schools in the vicinity.

At a ceremony on Friday July 10, 2015, Emmanuel was among 35 students who were adjudged best from their schools, both private and public, in Verona Italy. He was the only black among the Italians.

What surprised the head of the institutions and journalists at the ceremony was that he had been in Italy for only four years but came out the best. A genius indeed. Now back home in Ghana family and friends were all excited when Emmanuel did it and lifted the flag of Ghana so high.

More excited were the teachers and most, especially the headmistress of his former school.

She even assured us to put up the publication in the Daily Graphic on the school’s notice board and also hsve it culled into their school magazine. So excited and frenzied was the mood back in his former school, Grace Preparatory School Kaneshie First Light with the news that a product of the school was soaring high outside Ghana.

Emmanuel is entering the senior high school here, which is termed as Superiore, and he is offering Applied Sciences. He has been given a scholarship to pursue the course.

The writer is the mother of Emmanuel Kwame Sarpong Agyeman.