Free SHS: Ex GES DG gives consequence of abolishing double-track

Former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Professor Kwasi Opoku Amankwa says the double-track system in various second-cycle schools if abolished will deny many students access to free Senior High School and Technical Vocational Education and Training.

In a blog post sighted by Pretertiary.com, he said over the next 4 years, from 2025 to 2028, an estimated 1,800,000 students shall be denied access to secondary education if the gold and green track system is abolished.

“The double track/transitional calendar is the nucleus of the free secondary education policy. Any attempt to tinker with a double-track/transitional calendar without proper planning will collapse the entire free secondary education policy,” the Professor said.

The former Ghana Education Service Director-General emphasised that under the previous trimester system, teacher-student contact hours in an academic year were 1,080 hours and 3,240 hours for the three years.

“Under the double track/transitional calendar and semester system, teacher-student contact hours in an academic year are 1,134 hours and 3,402 hours for the three years.

This means under the double track/transitional calendar, students do 162 hours more than in the old system.

This has been reflected in their excellent performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), since 2020,” the Professor said in the blog post.

He said the proposal by the former President, John Dramani Mahama to abolish the double track system within 100 days in office, is a subtle way of saying National Democratic Congress (NDC) will cancel free secondary education.

“With a target of 100 per cent transition from Junior High to Senior High in mind – currently, 83 per cent – there is no need for any party or individual, to be in a haste to abolish a double track/transitional calendar merely for political expediency and as such, a decision to cancel double track, will deny a whopping 1,800,000 students access to secondary education,” he noted.

Professor Opoku Amankwa’s comment comes after the NDC in their 2024 manifesto said that their next government will review the Free Secondary High School (SHS) education policy within 100 days in office.

“When you implement a policy, you must take stock after a while to see whether you are achieving your target, When we win power in 2024, we will have a forum to review the education sector, and we will invite teachers, parents, educationists and students and then we will review the free SHS policy

We will address issues that are not going well, like the feeding of students. The free Senior High School is a good policy but the government must put in place measures that will ensure that things are less expensive.

When we come, within 100 days, we will review the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy, so that teachers, parents, and students will enjoy the benefits of the free SHS policy,” presidential candidate of NDC, John Mahama said.