The quality of education at the Senior High School (SHS) level is dwindling, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ivan Addae Mensah has said.
The worsening second-cycle teaching and learning he attributes to the current state of the government’s much-touted Free SHS policy which has largely centered on quantity rather than quality.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the renowned educationist and academic told the host, Bernard Avle, that, “the policy has increased quantity but quality-wise, I am not too sure if quality has improved.”
He makes a point that the ineffective nature of the program is eroding the gains made in secondary education over the years.
“We have seen the first batch. How many contact hours do students have with the double-track system.? It is not only academic knowledge that is important. The contact with fellow students, social experience, and holistic education that a student has all go into what we call quality education.”
“So it is not just the academic performance I refer to as quality, but the holistic aspect that you come out of the school with. It is all about exams because of the limited time. If you look at the pressure on students, they may be able to do well with exams, but do they get that holistic education that makes them quality people for society.? That is my concern”, he stressed.
Prof. Ivan Addae Mensah is commenting at a time the government has decided not to review the flagship program despite calls to do so considering how the policy is draining the economy.
But the government says it prioritizes education and will therefore not make changes to the Free SHS initiative.
To fill the gaps, Prof. Ivan Addae Mensah is proposing that the government reviews the policy to allow parents who are financially stable to fund their children’s secondary education.
Revenue generated from such a fee-paying option he suggested could be used to improve the conditions in deprived schools and assist the privileged.
“Let those who can pay for their wards pay and the revenue from that can help those who genuinely need the help. That has been my mantra all this while. It makes no sense for instance that, the son of the Minister of Finance goes to Achimota school for free food like the son of a woman working at ‘kokompe’. Let the Finance Minister’s son pay, so the revenue can be used to improve the facilities in the less endowed schools and support those who really need support. The textbooks are not in, and so how can you say that quality has improved when teachers are using the old textbooks for the new curriculum.”
Pressure is mounting on the Akufo-Addo government to review the Free SHS policy in particular as it takes a huge chunk of revenue.
Stakeholders including the opposition NDC, have urged the government to take another look at the Free SHS program and take expenditure cuts among others to save the country money.
Other civil society organizations have also called for a review of the programme including suggestions that the programme is limited to persons who are genuinely poor and unable to fund their secondary education.
For instance, the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission, Prof. Stephen Adei. Prof. Stephen Adei, explains that the GH¢7.6 billion expenditure on the programme over the past five years is taking a toll on Ghana’s economy.
