WASSCE SHS
A right is a freedom or an entitlement the constitution protects. A responsibility is a duty that comes with living in the state.
The 1992 Constitution sets out fundamental human rights and freedoms. Examples that candidates are expected to discuss in ordinary language include personal liberty, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, and the right to own property within the law. Rights are not a licence to harm someone else. Freedom of speech does not include a right to destroy a neighbour's reputation with a lie. The courts and the laws that fit the constitution are how the limit is applied.
Responsibilities match the rights. Obey the law. Pay lawful taxes. Defend the country when the law requires it. Respect the rights of other people. A parent has a duty toward a child's upbringing. A pupil has a duty to attend school if a place is provided. When a question says "rights and responsibilities", give both. A script that lists five rights and no duty has answered half of it. You do not need an article number. A wrong number is worse than none.
Pair them if the question asks for a relationship. The right to education sits beside the duty to attend and to let others learn. Do not claim a right the constitution does not give, such as a right to a particular job. Do not invent penalties. "It is a crime" is enough only when it is, and even then the mark is usually for the duty, not for the punishment.
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
4 marks
(a) State two fundamental rights of a Ghanaian citizen. (2 marks)
(b) State two responsibilities of a citizen. (2 marks)
(a) Freedom of speech, and personal liberty.
(b) Obeying the law, and paying lawful taxes.
2 marks
Explain why freedom of speech is not a freedom to say anything at all. (2 marks)
Speech that defames another person, or that is used to commit a crime, injures someone else's rights. The constitution protects speech within the law, not speech that destroys those other rights.
2 marks
A community wants a new clinic and also complains about paying tax. Give one reason the two positions are in tension. (2 marks)
A clinic is paid for from public revenue. Tax is a main source of that revenue. Refusing the duty and demanding the service asks the state to spend money it has not been given.
More questions on this topic are inside GLearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise Social Studies freeA right is something the constitution protects for you, such as personal liberty or freedom of speech. A responsibility is a duty you owe, such as obeying the law and paying lawful tax. Each right is limited by the rights of other people.
No. Describe the right or the duty in clear language. A wrong article number does more harm than leaving the number out. The 1992 Constitution is the document. Your answer is the idea. All WASSCE Social Studies past questions