King Paluta’s song item in BECE “culturally biased” – Dr Butakor
Dr Paul Kwame Butakor, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, has criticised the inclusion of King Paluta’s popular Twi-language song Aseda in this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), describing it as “culturally biased” and unfair to non-Akan-speaking candidates.
Talking to Kwaku Nhyira Addo on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Thursday (19 June), Dr Butakor, an expert in assessment, measurement and evaluation, warned that such choices could penalise students purely because of language barriers.
“If you look at this song, most of the words are in Twi. Are we saying that everybody in Ghana understands Twi?” he asked.
“We are asking a BECE student to listen to this song, even though it wasn’t played in the exam room. In any case, what exactly is the important issue in Ghanaian society that this question serves?” Butakor further argued.
In the exam’s Question 4(c), candidates were asked to identify two major social issues addressed in Aseda, a move which has sparked widespread debate online. When a screenshot of the question surfaced on social media, many Ghanaians questioned why WAEC would base national exam content on a local hit song that is predominantly in Twi.
“This item is culturally biased towards some people. If you don’t understand Twi, you can’t answer this question. So, if a student gets this item wrong, the interpretation is that this child has failed Creative Arts, but in reality, the child is failing because of a language barrier,” the senior lecturer opined.
“If you look at this song, most of the words are in Twi. Are we saying everyone understands it? Even this song wasn’t played in the exam room. What is the key social importance of this item? This is cultural bias. If you don’t understand the language, you can’t answer, and the child is marked down for that”, he noted.
WAEC defence
However, speaking to Accra-based 3FM on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, John Kapi, the head of Public Affairs for WAEC, explained that all the materials upon which the BECE questions were set had been provided to the various schools for preparation ahead of time.
“Language wouldn’t have been a barrier because teachers would have guided the students through it. The materials are provided to them ahead of time, allowing them to interpret and understand the content properly before the exam”, Kapi said.