Governemnt Is Walking The Talk; Free Senior High Cum The Double Track System

The précis of the stratospheric issue at hand is that, for a Presidential candidate to occupy the highest office of the Land, he would be self-foisted in making certain pledges anytime he mounts the campaign platform to prove his competence, and that may compel the masses to freely donate their thumb’s-ink for him in the coming election. These promises would sound so appealing to all class of people but it is left with the very elect to ascertain whether it is feasible and achievable and not a mere conjecturing. In a developed country, there is a national developmental plan for any political party that would be sworn into office to continue its defined projects, for this reason, the speed at which their economy grows is never halted by politics. The ideal of perceiving a government as chanting tongues to win votes is seldom unlike ours! I am neither a party witch-hunter nor a skilful educationist; my aim is not to begrudge any political proponent with this piece, so kindly refrain from ad-hominem. I am just tired of being a spectator!

Ghanaians are canny, so a nicely packaged talk does not mean their votes would count for that aspirant just because he is vociferous, unless he is determined of not going to talk the talk but would rather walk the walk! And of this, the 2016 election showed clearly that Ghanaians and especially the youth, are looking forward shoving Ghana from the disadvantaged position of underdeveloped economy. Then it means that something made the erstwhile administration lost its seat, and it has become ostensible that if the incumbent government forgets his purpose and pledges, coming 2020 Ghanaians may consider the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) because both the rival parties; Nation Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) have failed us to some extent!

The people of Ghana are demanding for the fulfilments of the promises that were printed on the manifesto of the then Presidential candidate now the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo which got him 53.35% votes to rehab the economy of Ghana. Among the few of such were the herculean promise to stabilize the cedi against its mocker; the dollar, free senior high education, one village one dam, restoration of teacher trainee allowance, each constituency to receive 1$m dollars and provide jobs to all graduates. In the quest of stabilizing the cedi it has rather flew in a complete different altitude or could be compared to the wide spread of the Ebola virus. However, government is still working earnestly to ensure that our currency gets its honoured place as we observed in 2010. Also, we could say that from 23^rd March, 2018, the vice President launched the restoration of the teacher trainee allowance by confidently saying that it has come to stay; Dr. Mahmudu Bawumia. Nation Builders Corps is underway which would provide half a loaf to the youths by increasing their scope of employability and experience.

Nonetheless, one of the campaign promises that is dangling on the air waves is the “free Senior High School”. Prior to its inception, it has received virulent condemnation from mostly the ‘less’ by tagging it as a fiasco. There were other technocrats who held the view that government would emerge collapsing the educational sector and so rigorous measures had to be entrenched before its commencement. Furthermore, well-meaning Ghanaians also added their voices to the ongoing national debate by questioning the sustainability of it. There was also the wrangling of the source of income for the project but government acted cost-transparently by informing us that it is going to prey on the country’s own coffers; His heartfelt priority is to ensure that senior high becomes feely incumbent on all Ghanaian children. The President said that citizenry transcends holding a passport or birth certificate, was he not absolutely right?

The Government launched the “free senior high school” on the 12^th September, 2017, and a smooth operation was stoked. After some few months of its institutionalization, almost all the pitfalls that were predicted and other disastrous outcomes that were not even envisaged had today come to bear. It accedes to the proverbial saying that the chickens have come home to rest; congestion, teacher to student ratio, poor feeding, borders should be excluded from the incentive, those with the wherewithal must pay, are the challenges at hand now. The rants have escalated to an epidemic level when government upon the heated brawl that these outcomes had generated from the public, said that he is going to reintroduce the temporary “Double Track System” to curb the turbulence of its flagship project; “free Senior high school”. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the minister of education has hinted that it would take effect on only 400 schools out of 696, beginning from the next academic year. The double track system in Ga ['keji apko mini miyaa'], which we had experienced before; those who went through this system at the primary level until it was abolished could attest to its side effects of deliberate absenteeism, pupils’ unseriousness, limited number of teachers, teacher fatigue and now that profligacy is rampant and had permeated in all senior high schools there is the fear of teenage pregnancy or immoralities because the youths are more exposed to the bed game than the book game! These are the humongous reasons why more beyond the minority had deployed that this solution to salvage the issue at hand would be a debacle!

Interestingly, government's ideal has been earmarked as a razzmatazz following what others do feel whenever the Education Minister of Ghana pontificates with certain projects which they feel are bereft of substantive elements. Nevertheless, ‘Citi fm's Break Fast Show' engaged the deputy Minister of Education and his submission on the issue showed that he is in fact the best part of the crop. Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum's articulation on the issue of the double track system seemed to underscore that the only panacea which government has at the moment is to venture into the double track system which is anticipated to mitigate all the challenges the free education has brought to book. Still and all, well respected Ghanaians believe that government must show the blue print of this Salvationist remedy to ensure that the future of youths would not be jeopardised.

From where I sit I think if it is well implemented it would boost the nation's educational sector and thus more literates would be raised to ferry Ghana to that land where it would be seen manufacturing with a less importation tendency but rather vast exportation. Government must be given the benefit of the doubt to implement this policy, because it is better not to have too many chief and not enough Indians, one wise man said. Research has shown a scaring statistics of fallouts from the transitional period from Junior High school to Senior High School mainly because of the jinx of poverty and individuals’ choice but the latter is very negligible. In 2013, 352,202 were placed but 90, 604 could not enrol, 113,260 could not have senior high education out of 386,412 in 2014 and in 2016, 420, 135 that were placed by the computerized system, 111,335 students comfortably sat home.

We can glean that more students have gain access by the kind courtesy of the free senior high education which is equally good for the nation because an investment made into the minds of the citizens is incomparable to depositing an individual’s pocket with wholesome cash of more than 5.3m. Infrastructure has been our greatest enemy as a country which could fly billions of cedis from the coast of Africa to Northern America at the detriment of a woman delivering on the floor and an old woman or young child dying of the no bed syndrome caricature!

The double tract system however would solve the issue of congestion in the school. It is noteworthy that even if it had not been the intrusion of the free senior high education policy, our schools have always been disadvantaged. Government schools have mostly been a ratio of 45 students to one teacher before the free senior high was conceived. So if this gets started it means that teachers would probably meet a lesser number to teach than the former as government is poised to engage more of them and vice versa. There is also the issue of students not having adequate time to study and that brings to mind why the erstwhile administration under President John Agyekum Kufour extended the three years curriculum to four years to enable students prepare adequately for the West African Examination. The new dimension of the double track system would help reshape this module effectively. Students who would be at home would have the optimum time to study and while their colleagues at school would also get the fresh ideas, and when they get conglomerated, it would boost the students’ performance. The track system is another step for government to provide employment for more teachers whom if it had not been the double track system would have been dormant for years and then stowed-way their talents to other country. Now they have the highest demand because if the vacancies were limited, the protocol brouhaha would be the ticket then but this has been evaded as well.

It would be prudent if we all assent to the government’s initiative although the major portholes exist. We have censured political bigwigs of always allowing the talk to walk them but this time around the table has been tuned. Government is trying within its best of capacities to “walk the talk” and this is praiseworthy. If he has not done nothing about the promises he had made, we would be the same people lambasting him and we might nickname him. Just recently, we trolled him as “King Promise” but it beseems he is not what we called him but becoming ‘King Fulfiller'. Or must we and our sons not have the privilege of enjoying the national cake, must it always be the selected few and the V8s? I do ask so what is the other solution apart from the double track system at this deadliest time? And are we happy to see 1000s of poor Ghanaian children being denied of senior high schools? Poverty is really a curse, and it is a crazy thing! The section of those who believe this must not be implemented had their own reservations but those of us who nearly became school drop-outs because of financial incapacitation, we understand the ordeal the more, which is why President Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo needs our support to implement this policy successfully! Now our governments are walking the talk and ensuring that the definition of politics would not remain as it has been known as a ‘game of mere talks’ and ‘walk away’. Ghanaians are more than Oliver Twist now, so before you prepare your manifesto, you must need to omit those that are not feasible lest you are dethroned or denied.

It is better to walk than to curse the road and it also better to have legions of educated youths than pretty thieves and illiterates.

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© Abdur Rahman Odoi Anum Pobee
[rahmanislam5000@gmail.com]
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