By Steve Kakrabah-Quarshie
Professor Clement Somuah, Dean of the School of Technology at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has said that “there are many good aspects in the new educational system.”
According to him, this new system lays emphasis on vocational training “which was virtually neglected in the past,” describing this as an opportunity for students to develop their talents.
Another advantage is the introduction of Information Technology and French into the system which would enable the students to be abreast with modern Information Technology.
Students at the basic level will now spend 11 years as opposed to nine previously – two years Kindergarten, six years primary and three at Junior High School.
Prof. Somuah was speaking in an interview with The Standard on the introduction of a new educational system starting on September 1, this year.
He said the reduction in the number of subjects at the JSS level, would make the students stronger academically.
President John Agyekum Kufuor recently launched the new system emphasising that “it aims at developing a highly skilled, technologically- advanced and disciplined workforce to service the country’s growing economy.”
It is also expected to advance the literacy rate in the country by nearly 100 percent by 2015, he said.
Under it the Junior Secondary school (JSS) becomes Junior High School (JHS), while the Senior Secondary School becomes Senior High School (SHS).
The three-year period of JHS will be maintained, while the current three-year SSS will be replaced with a four-year SHS.
However, Prof. Somuah said, one of the major impacts of the change would be on the budget for education “and the cost to the tax payer due to the increase in the number of students.”
He said in implementing the new education system, the government must be ready to spend more on educational budget, especially on additional teachers, more classrooms, equipment, books and other materials to handle the additional one year in SHS.
Prof. Somuah, who is also a member of the National Educational Implementation Committee (NEIC), said that as part of the Education Reform, a new National Inspectorate Board (NIB) outside the Ghana Education Service (GES) but under the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MOESS), would be responsible for periodic inspection of Basic and Secondary Schools to ensure quality education.
He noted that students in private schools do better in their examinations “because of proper supervision, while non-performing teachers would have their appointments terminated.”
The Dean urged the public schools to learn from the private ones to bridge the performance gap between them.
Prof. Somuah noted that despite the apparent poor performance at the basic level, “some of our students get admission to top universities in the world, including Stanford, Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA.
He said many good students were unable to gain admission into tertiary institutions in Ghana because of limited vacancies, adding that 55% of qualified applicants gained admission to the Public Universities in the 2005/2006 academic year.
He called for concerted efforts to address problems facing education in Ghana with a view to making the new system achieve its objectives.
Speaking at the launch of the new Reforms, Paapa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister of Education, Science and Sports, said a mandatory mastery of English by the end of primary six would be emphasised “given its importance as our official language, and its role as a unifying force worldwide.”
Core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Ghanaian Languages, are also contained in the refurbished curriculum, he said.
Under the system, pupils in the kindergarten and primary levels would be taught in their own language, “or the language of the majority of an area.”
He urged stakeholders in education to see themselves as an integral part of the new educational transformation.
With the reforms, Technical, Vocational and Agricultural Institution will also offer four-year courses including the core SHS subjects.
Teacher Training Colleges would be upgraded and conditions of service for teachers improved, with special incentives for teachers in the rural areas.
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAS), would be responsible for the infrastructure, supervision and monitoring of basic and Senior High Schools.
The Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) and cost-sharing at Senior High and Tertiary levels would be maintained under the reforms, he added.
Educational services would be widened to include Library and Information, Guidance and Counselling, while Distance Education would be encouraged.
More emphasis will be laid on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), while the Private Sector would be encouraged to increase its participation in the provision of educational services, he stated.
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