I failed beautifully – Dr George Asiamah on the SSSCE results that turned him into a shoeshine boy
Today, he is a PhD holder and a lecturer at Oxford University, but back in 2003, Dr George Asiamah would not have thought this would ever be his story. Though he was certain he would fail some of his papers after sitting for the then Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) in 2003, Dr Asiamah […]
Dr. George Asiamah, a PhD holder and lecturer at Oxford University, once failed his Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) in 2003. Despite scoring well in his Junior Secondary School (BECE) with an aggregate of 22, his SSSCE results were catastrophic, with Fs in English, Maths, Economics, and Geography, and Es in Social Studies, Integrated Science, and Government.
The shock of these results saw him transform from a standout student to hawking clothes and shining shoes on the streets of Kumasi and Accra. His family and friends, unaware of his grade, pressured him to apply for the government’s youth employment programme, but this only compounded his embarrassment. Dr. Asiamah, desperate to escape his shame, eventually took a job as a shop attendant at Kantamanto, earning just 70 cedis a month.
Despite the stigma, the work provided him with enough to live on while staying with his uncle. Looking back, Dr. Asiamah reflects on the experience as one that taught him "street-level economics" that outlasted any classroom lessons.
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