Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Deputy Minister of Education, has disclosed that gross secondary education enrolment ratio in Ghana is now 62.6 percent, up from 36 percent registered in 2010.
Dr Adutwum said this, while contributing to the 2020 Budget debate in Parliament and Government Financial Policy for the year ending 2020.
He said government was also working hard to transform the country’s educational system to ensure quality at the senior high level.
“We are doing something right when it comes to access. We have opened the flood gate of senior high education to the vast majority of our people,” he said.
“The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, is doing more to change the fortunes of the youth”.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta on November 13, 2019, presented the 2020 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of government to Parliament, where he outlined several programmes and policies expected to drive the economy.
Dr Adutwum described the double track system as the engine of the Free Senior High School in the interim, arguing: as a temporary measure, it has helped to ensure a vast majority of Ghanaian youth accessed secondary education.
He added that government was on the right track to deliver quality education due to a number of policies instituted, including; those that ensured teachers were retrained regularly. He said government had awarded 10 Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Centres for construction, while additional 20 centres were expected to be established in 2020.
Mr Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, Ranking Member for Education in his remarks, stated that the problem with the double track system and congestion in SHSs could have been avoided if government had completed community day schools started by the previous government.
“If they had completed these projects, I know very well that, that double track will not even come because we would have gotten enough space to accommodate students in our institutions,” he said.
According to him, government only completed 27 of the community day schools since 2017 and queried what was being done to complete the remaining projects.
Mr Nortsu-Kotoe also criticised government for not making enough provision in the 2020 budget statement for basic education, saying: “The sector is suffering from serious neglect”.
He was unhappy that for the three years that the government assumed administration and management of the country, not much was done on infrastructure.
He quoted 2017, 2018 and 2019 budgets in which the government projected to construct 200 kindergarten schools, but “as at now nobody knows how many has been completed.
“You do not see any serious attempt being made to make sure that the basic level education is given the necessary attention that it deserves” he added.
The lawmaker said basic education was in dire need of infrastructure and that if nothing much was done, the country’s educational foundation would be in crisis.
He noted that the basic level was where children were prepared for senior high school, and quizzed: “So if all our attention is on senior high school to the neglect of the basic level, Speaker, where are we going”.
He called on the government to pay equal attention to basic education in the country.
Source: GNA
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We all know that NDC are a bunch of vision-killers. Because they have no original ideas in their thick skulls, they are bemused with other people's new ideas and attack them. I want the definition of 'Quality Education' as trumpeted by the NDC. Until they are able to explain thoroughly, they should allow this Free SHS to run and help the broad masses of our youth to get some education that will help most of them in the future. It is better than for the youth to be stark illiterates and complete ignoramuses.
Good work done. Your detractors will continue to ask questions and watch you in amazement. Your government keeps on solving the ensuing problems as they come. That is how we confront the challenges of our time. Some decided to use 8 years for infrastructure but at the end of the day the increasing numbers in enrollment exposed them. For how long should we wait for infrastructure development. History tells us that Nkrumah never waited for infrastructure before free Northern scholarship. Rawlings never waited for all the JHS workshops to be completed before changing the structure of our education. This current government has at least solved the problem of enrollment. Most of our children could not access secondary education basically due to finance but not lack of facilities. Now indeed this government has succeeded to almost double enrollment. As a country we have to encourage them to do more by improving infrastructural challenges associated with such a bold step. Parents shall continue to be grateful to Nana Addo for lessening our burden. As for the detractors such as NDC, they are bereft with VISION. They are nation wreckers without any useful objective for the growth of this country. I call them 11SHAMEFUL DESCENDANTS.
I laugh when these charlatans & deceits try to sing their own praises. People who value education and can clearly see one if they encounter such will not look at what you are praising yourselves with. Double Track, No Textbooks for all subjects, etc. Everything is nyamaaaaaa. Parents who value education are hiring will not fall for you krap. Where do your children attend school and you decide to give this POLITICAL EDUCATION to Ghanaians. You have just messed up the future of Ghanaian children. Piccadilly government
Dear Ama, you are right but a transformation is a process that gives room for improvement. But we have to commend the new administration for having the courage to initiate the transformational program, the FHS- with all its' initial problems and challenges they have stood firm to make it work and they are on course. They still have to do a lot to establish quality education in Ghana. Then, there is a lot that goes with quality education and the honorable Ministers with all humility are not claiming to have it all. But in the face of it lets hope, the first result will give us some encouragement to say at least the standard has improved giving the initial hardship in implementation of the FHS.
You would be mistaken if you use examination as the only parameter for measuring quality of education. The qualities of teaching, instructional materials, school environment (boarding, feeding) etc, etc. all matter.
Kofi, be patient and wait for the results of the first batch students, who undertook the FHS-program.
Oh good God, how I wished so much, that Dr. Zenator Rawlings came here to read what the Right Honorable Dept. Minister is saying. The quality of Education is not in any way compromised in the FHS-Program. The daughter of the Former President is better advised to refrain from joining the NDC-cohorts in making baseless propaganda and spewing lies.
Please what is the corresponding increase in quality? Just a question ooo!