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Even if the candidates of just one school perform very poorly in a final examination such as the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE), that should give cause for concern. When whole groups of candidates in a district fail so massively that hardly any of them qualify to enter the Senior High School that constitutes a tragedy, which should not only send all of us mourning, but also force us to investigate the matter. If there is a Senior High School in that district, how does the computerised system of admission get hold of the 30 percent of the admitted students from the district? By the way, the requirement that a school should admit 30 per cent of its students from the immediate catchment area has been part of the 1987 reforms since their implementation. The reality is that since the pre-computerised, school-based admission was strictly on merit, the provision was routinely ignored. Let us see how the computerised system in use now implements the provision. But let that pass. What could account for such a dismal performance in a particular district, or even across the country? This article does not pretend to provide all the answers. In fact, this article is not the result of any systematic research. However, the statements made have great validity, and should not be totally ignored. What are the factors or ingredients in the teaching and learning process? A successful outcome depends upon the pupils, the teachers, learning and teaching materials, supervision, the school environment, and even the attitudes of the people in the environment in which the teaching and learning activity takes place. The obvious fact should be noted that the BECE candidates are not suddenly catapulted into the examinations. By the time they come to take the examinations, they are supposed to have had formal instructions at the Basic (Lower and Upper Basic) and the Junior High School (JHS) levels for nine years. The lucky ones may even have started at the nursery and kindergarten stages. The question to ask is what kind of foundation is laid for the final examinations after the ninth year? How many of the school children have the innate ability or talent for the formal classroom instruction? Given that the talent or ability exists, how interested may they be in the teaching and learning process? What kind of home do these children come from? In a home environment where both parents live together, know the value of formal education (even if they are themselves illiterate), have the means, and are prepared to spend money, the likelihood is that the children will also be interested in going to school. Where the children come from deprived homes, such that money for food, school uniforms, books and other teaching and learning materials cannot be obtained, or obtained with great difficulty, the probability, is that school may have no attraction for them. Even today, when there are more schools than before, it is still a fact that some school children must walk a distance from their village to the next village or small town where there is a school. Such school children have to brave the elements such as the hot sun or rain. Those who must walk by highways, risk being knocked down and killed or maimed by passing vehicles. For such children, the environment cannot be said to be conducive to learning. The school environment itself may also not be conducive to teaching and learning. Almost on a daily basis, one television news item or the other brings to viewers collapsing swish structures passing off as classrooms, with roofs almost totally off. In one news item, children in kindergarten were seen writing with their bellies on the floor, because of the absence of desks. Where there are desks, a dual desk that should seat two children may actually seat three, or possibly, four. How can effective teaching and learning take place? How can the educational enterprise be successful when teachers are forced by circumstances to combine different classes because of lack of teachers? Even in these days of the computer, we here still need the blackboard (or chalk board) the chalk, exercise books, textbooks and reading books. The blackboard may still be found, that is, if it is not leaning against a tree. But, how many basic schools in this country have libraries? Do not be surprised to go to a school and find out that the few so-called library books are kept in a trunk in the office of the headteacher. These books may not even be loaned out by the headteacher for fear that he or she will have to pay for lost or torn books himself. In most cases, the children cannot go home with school books. How can effective learning be possible? In Ghana today, overcrowding of class or lecture rooms is common. That makes marking of pupils� work difficult. Yet, without written work given in school or as homework, the teacher has no effective means of knowing how far the children have understood the lessons taught. Consequently, continuous assessment can easily be manufactured. Bad as it is, do you blame the overworked teacher? While truancy on the part of the children contributes to the problem, the attitude of some of the teachers cannot be ignored. As a District Director of Education noted, some of the teachers in his district (where the massive failure occurred) spent the time pursuing private studies instead of concentrating on their work. The worst teachers are those who deliberately go to school late, and virtually do not teach the children under their care. And they are such terrors that the children dare not complain. Should the headteacher find out and complain to the education authorities, the worst that can happen to this irresponsible teacher will be a transfer to another school to continue with his �crime� of �destroying� the future of more children. Such a situation discourages headteachers from carrying out effective supervision. Of course, the headteacher himself may be such a weak character that he is unable to enforce any discipline. He looks on helplessly as teachers and pupils �do their own thing,� as the expression goes. If a school child lives in an environment where the people do not place any high value on education, there is often no encouragement given to the few enterprising ones. Instead of going to school on a particular day, the children may go fishing, go to the farm, or go to the market, so that they can make a living or help their parents and guardians. What we should all realise is that the journey to the BECE does not start in the ninth year, but in the first year, when the child starts Basic 1, if not nursery and kindergarten. It is only when the educational journey makes steady progress that success can be achieved in the long run. Are all of us � government, parents, the teachers, pupils, and the rest of us � prepared?