A former Director of Education with the Ghana Education Service, Dr. Agyeman Badu is advocating for the reintroduction of the 4-year Senior High School system to promote effective teaching and learning in schools.
According to him, calls by the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) for the reintroduction is right and must be considered by government.
Speaking at the launch of the 25th anniversary celebration of Badu Senior High and Technical school in the Brong Ahafo region, Dr. Agyemang Badu said the current 3-year system being run in the various Senior High Schools in the country is inadequate to ensure students cover the entire syllabus and sufficiently prepare them for their final examination.
He said the call must be assessed and duly implemented to promote quality education in the country.
“There is the need to extend the 3-year program to 4 years so that we can have proper education for our wards. This should not be about politics. We don’t have to make politics a part of the education system in our country,” he stressed.
‘Calls for return to 4-yr SHS needless’
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration under President John Kufuor introduced the 4-year Senior High School programme in 2007. However, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) reverted to the 3-year system after it regained power in 2009.
The NDC’s President, John Mahama following his party’s re-election in 2008 said calls for the return of the four-year Senior High School system was “uncalled for” as statistics show that students have performed better in the 3-year system.
Following the release of this year’s West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results last month, many Ghanaians including some educational stakeholders have renewed calls for a reintroduction of the 4-year system which they say promotes longer stay in school of students and extended study time but President John Mahama said statistics show that students have performed better in the 3-year system and therefore needs to be maintained.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana