The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has revealed that 60 percent of Senior High Schools (SHSs) nationwide have transitioned from the double-track system to single-track operation.
Emphasizing the Ministry’s commitment, he asserted that all SHSs will eventually adopt the single-track system, notwithstanding the surge in enrollment attributed to the Free SHS program.
Speaking at the launch of the annual STEMNNOVATION competition at the Accra Technical Training Centre, Dr. Adutwum underscored the importance of fostering creativity and innovation in education.
The competition serves as a platform for SHS and TVET students to develop projects addressing societal challenges within the realms of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
This year’s competition focuses on four key areas: environmental sustainability, food sovereignty, sustainable energy, and digital technologies. Dr. Adutwum emphasized that nurturing creativity and innovation aligns with the government’s educational objectives, aiming to equip students with the skills to drive the nation’s transformational agenda.
Highlighting the significance of modern educational infrastructure, the Minister stressed the necessity for 21st-century learning environments. He called upon industry and corporate entities to collaborate with the Ministry in supporting students’ STEM initiatives.
The STEMNNOVATION competition, now in its third year since inception in 2022, has showcased impressive projects from participating schools. Notably, Kumasi Academy and Ahafoman Senior High School emerged victorious in the inaugural and subsequent editions, respectively.
The implementation of the Common Core Curriculum in Senior High Schools (SHSs) is on the verge of commencement, following its successful application at the Junior High level three years prior.
The first cohort of students under this system is poised to undertake the inaugural Common Core-based examination this year.
The readiness for this transition comes after the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) conducted trial tests during the curriculum’s development phase, incorporating valuable feedback to refine it.
Currently, a second trial test is underway in 31 schools nationwide.
The Director-General of NaCCA, Professor Edward Appiah, revealed in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra that these trial tests, conducted every two weeks, will persist until August, with the academic year slated to commence in September. Notably, all 38 subjects, including STEM subjects, are being trialed.
“The trial tests, which are done every two weeks, will continue until August, and the academic year will come alive in September.
“We are doing the trial test in all the 38 subjects, including the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects,” the Director-General of NaCCA, Professor Edward Appiah, said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Friday.
To ensure alignment with tertiary institution expectations, NaCCA engaged vice-chancellors extensively throughout the curriculum’s development. Professor Appiah highlighted the receptiveness of vice-chancellors to the new curriculum, expressing their excitement despite providing valuable suggestions for consideration.
Moreover, NaCCA has developed teacher manuals and professional learning community (PLC) manuals to guide educators on the curriculum’s implementation effectively.
The new curriculum, grounded in subject-based learning, offers greater flexibility compared to previous program-based approaches. This flexibility addresses concerns raised by stakeholders, particularly universities, regarding students’ preparedness for diverse academic paths.
Although students are mandated to write examinations in eight core subjects, they have the flexibility to select one or two elective subjects from a range of options.
This approach ensures students’ exposure to a broad spectrum of knowledge areas, fostering a well-rounded educational experience.
Ultimately, NaCCA remains committed to ongoing engagement with professional bodies to ensure the curriculum’s continued alignment with evolving educational needs and standards.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has alleged that parents are currently paying bribes to secure admissions into various senior high schools (SHSs) in Ghana.
According to him, these bribes are being demanded at the placement centers for SHS admissions.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points regarding the Corruption Perceptions Index report by Transparency International, Dafeamekpor expressed concerns about corruption in the education system, citing instances where parents are allegedly paying to secure spots in popular schools.
He claimed that corruption has infiltrated the computerized placement system, leading to demands for bribes at placement centers.
Dafeamekpor argued that this issue needs to be addressed to ensure fairness in the admission process.
“Today, parents are paying bribes to admit their children into SHSs because the computer system is being tampered with.
“They will tell you Achimota School is full but if you pay money they will admit you, they will tell you PRESEC is full but if you pay money they will admit you, this is not from the headmasters but persons at the placements centers,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday Febraury 3 regarding the Corruption Perceptions Index report by Transparency International, released on Tuesday, January 30, ranking Ghana in the 70th position out of 180 countries monitored.
Additionally, Dafeamekpor criticized the current administration’s efforts in fighting corruption, stating that former President John Dramani Mahama demonstrated stronger political will in tackling corruption during his tenure.
In contrast, private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu asserted that President Akufo-Addo lost the fight against corruption when he appointed relatives as ministers of state. Kpebu emphasized that Akufo-Addo’s family and friends’ governance is a sign of corruption.
On the same program, Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North, Kwame Andy Appiah-Kubi, defended President Akufo-Addo, arguing that blaming the president for acts of corruption by other officers is unfair. Appiah-Kubi emphasized the independence of state investigative bodies empowered to fight corruption.
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report by Transparency International ranked Ghana 70th out of 180 countries, with a score of 43 out of 100.
The report highlighted concerns about stagnation in Ghana’s anti-corruption efforts for the fourth consecutive year.
An independent presidential hopeful in Ghana, Dr. Sam Ankrah, has put forward a suggestion to list some high-earning Senior High Schools (SHS) on the stock market to ease the financial burden on the government.
He believes that schools such as Prempeh College, Achimota, and Adisadel College could be offloaded to interested parties, including alumni, who can buy shares and take over the management of these institutions.
Dr. Ankrah argues that this move is necessary to maintain the quality of education in these schools, as the current government-funded “Free SHS” system is struggling to provide sufficient resources.
“We need to offload our high-earned school. Schools like Prempeh College, Achimota, Adisadel College, all these schools should be offloaded to the old boys and anybody with interest to buy into it.
“Let them buy shares into it and then they run the schools. We should flow the school on the stock exchange.
He continued to say that “There is nowhere in the world where you go to boarding school for free, lets me be real here and you want to maintain the novelty of the school. Right now, it’s free and it’s not quality. The quality goes down every day. Already the old boys are managing certain aspects of the schools ,” he explained.
By involving private investment, he believes that the schools can maintain their prestige and excellence.
He stated, “There is nowhere in the world where you go to boarding school for free, let me be real here, and you want to maintain the novelty of the school. Right now, it’s free and it’s not quality. The quality goes down every day.”
According to Dr. Ankrah, the government can retain some interest in these schools while allowing the private sector and passionate stakeholders, such as alumni, to take active roles in managing and funding the institutions.
This, he believes, will enable the government to redirect funds to other important areas while ensuring that the quality of education remains high.
While the proposal may face varying opinions and considerations, it presents an alternative perspective on how to sustain the quality of education in high-earning SHS in Ghana.
Personnel of the Ghana national fire service and the ambulance service rescued 16-year-old Wahid Abdallah who was caught up by the fire when his dormitory caught fire on the night of Thursday, April 6, 2023.
Business SHS (BISCO) had one of their boys’ dormitories completely burnt yesterday in Tamale.
Fire officials said the incident occurred at dawn on Thursday, affecting the school prefect’s room, with fire officials acting swiftly to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the building.
The Public Relations Officer for the Ghana National Fire Service, ADO II, Baba Hudu, revealed that only one student was in the affected room when the incident happened as schools are on Easter break.
The incident is the latest in a series of fire outbreaks in Senior High Schools in the Northern region. Saint Charles Minor Seminary Senior High School alone has suffered more than five fire outbreaks over the last three years, reducing the dormitory capacity by more than a thousand students.
Last year, the Tolon Senior High School was closed temporarily following a fire outbreak that destroyed a two-story girls’ dormitory with a capacity of more than 500 students.
Though officials are yet to identify the cause of these fire outbreaks, fire officials suspect poor wiring and reckless use of electrical gadgets by students are to blame for the disasters.
A former vice chancellor of the University of Ghana (UG), Professor Ernest Aryeetey, has urged the governmentto give Senior High Schools (SHSs) some autonomy in order to aid in enhancing the quality of education in the country.
Such autonomy, he said, would give the schools the authority to mobilise funds to complement what the government provided for education, manage academic programmes and also help the schools protect their assets.
Speaking at the 96th Founders’ Day of Achimota School in Accra last Saturday, Prof. Aryeetey, said Achimota School, for instance, had the potential to mobilise sufficient resources from parents and the private sector to help develop the school when given the autonomy to do so.
“There are many other schools that could benefit from such an initiative, and that is why the Old Achimotans Association (OAA) has led the creation of an Alumni Council that brings together the leadership of about 40 schools to fight for such recognition for their schools,” he said.
The 96th Founders’ Day was on the theme: “Achimota School and the Empowerment of Generations: The First 96 Years.”
It was attended by many past and current students of the school, as well as foreign dignitaries.
Some highlights of the event were cultural performances by the students depicting the major ethnic groups in the country and praises for the founders of the school — Dr James Kwegyir Aggrey, Dr Frederick Gordon Guggisberg and Reverend Alexander Garden Fraser.
No elitism
Prof. Aryeetey, himself an old student of Achimota School, was of the view that allowing schools, especially those regarded as top schools, to be independent or granting them some form of autonomy would not lead to elitism.
Rather, he said, it would be an opportunity for the schools to be innovative and find means to develop individually to improve on their services to the country.
For instance, he said, Achimota Schoolwas a model educational institution set up by the colonial government in 1927 with a governing council that was independent and autonomous, with a mandate to develop generations of leaders in all spheres.
“The proposal for an autonomous SHS will not lead to elitism, if managed properly, just as the colonial government had planned. It will rather provide and raise leaders in all spheres of life who will transform this nation for the next century.
“We recognise that Achimota School needs to be free to mobilise resources that are required for it to become effective in transforming lives and empowering generations,” he stressed.
The suggestion by Prof. Aryeetey comes on the back of numerous calls by civil society organisations, notable personalities and interest groups for the government to stop the wholesale free SHS policy by allowing parents who can pay fees to pay.
For example, in July last year, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) urged the government to review the free SHS policy to allow “rich parents” to pay fees.
According to the Director of Research of the IEA, Dr John Kwakye, such a move could help lessen the fiscal pressure on the government in the wake of the economic challenges facing the country.
“I am not against free SHS because human capital creates fiscal capital… but if some people can afford its payment, then let them pay, or we can even do cost-sharing,” he said.
Challenges
The Headmaster of Achimota School, Ebenezer Graham-Acquah, said the school had, throughout its 96 years of existence, produced men and women who were leaders in various fields and had contributed positively to national development.
However, he said, the school faced certain challenges, such as lack of adequate infrastructure to cater for the needs of its numerous students.
Another big challenge, he said, was the encroachment on its lands, adding that more than 100 acres of the school land had been encroached upon by people.
The minister of education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has lauded the accomplishments of the President Akufo-Addo’s administration in the field of education.
He claims that the Akufo-Addo administration has done the best job the nation has seen in the last 14 years in terms of educational progress.
Speaking to the media in Accra, the minister said that the policies of Akufo-Addo have resulted in an unprecedented rate of transitioning of students to the various levels of education in the country.
“The good people of Ghana know that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is moving full steam ahead in education transformation.
“STEM schools are being oversubscribed, this is under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. If you look at enrolment in Senior High Schools, in 2015, 299,649 (students) were enrolled. In 2022, 465,000 students were enrolled in Senior High Schools.
“Over and over again the accomplishment of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is unmatched… the records of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the last 14 years is unmatched,” he said.
The minister added that people who want to contest the fact that Akufo-Addo’s government has been superior in the educational sector should check the records, which he said are sacred and do not lie.
Clothes hangers have now become tools for abortion by some young girls.
Per reports, the hangers are used in some senior high schools, particularly by the ladies for flogging their junior colleagues and also for abortion.
A post on social media detailing how such a dangerous act is carried out says the ladies will put the hanger in fire to become very hot and then insert it into their vagina.
It is perceived that the hot metal will kill the developing foetus and subsequently come out in a form of blood.
The dangerous thing is that this method of abortion mostly has serious side effects. Sometimes the metal damages their womb, cause severe infections and others also die due to excessive bleeding.
Read the full narration below; This hanger is used for flögging and abortion. In boarding schools, it’s called “GO TO HELL”
This hanger is used to brutalize junior students whether they do good or bâd. The pain alone is out of this world.
When they want to use it for ABORTION, they use a lighter or go to the kitchen to sterilize it with fire.
This hanger will be twisted in such a way that it’s straightened and the hook is on the tip then they pass it through f!re making sure it’s hot and red.
They insert in the vâginâ and twist, sometimes they twist and pull out the fôetus and k!ll it. when the hanger is removed, they will sit on a bucket till the flow subsides. Junior students will be asked to clean up the mess.
If the bleeding is too much, all the junior students will be forced to give out their pads.
This happens mostly in boarding schools, even in our university days. I used to hear about it. I never lived in the hostel, those in the hostel whom they saw as most righteous beings were busy using hanger to k!ll their babies.
Some of them d!e due to excessive bleeding. While some dâmâge their womb which will cause their womb to be removed.
Later, they will tell us to forget the past. I’m sorry, I won’t let any bloød relative of mine end up with someone like you.
Parents, please always be on the look out for your teenage girls. Boarding school has ru!ned most of them.
The Church of Pentecost in Accra has instructed its branch in Koforidua Area to issue a check for Ghc30,000 to help buy food items to feed the students at the Pentecost Senior High School in Koforidua in the Eastern Region as part of its mission to support government efforts to address the food crisis in Senior High Schools across the nation.
The donation was aimed at solving the food crisis that has also hit the Pentecost SHS (PENSEC) in Koforidua.
According to information made available to the correspondent, the directive was given when the Headmaster of the school, Mr. Peter Attah Gyamfi sent an emergency call to the church about the food shortages at the school.
The headmaster indicated that any delay could have compelled them to close down the school.
He added that the situation became worst to the point that students were drinking porridge without sugar and bread.
According to him, their cries caught the attention of the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost Apostle Eric Nyamekye who authorised the Koforidua Area Head, Apostle Samuel Osei Asante to issue a cheque for Ghc30,000 to the school to buy food items to feed the students.
Expressing their gratitude to the church, the management of the school indicated that the money has since been used to purchase food items.
The Headmaster, Mr Peter Attah Gyamfi expressed profound gratitude to the church for intervention and urged other churches, old students associations and philanthropists to support the schools in these difficult times to enhance teaching and learning.
