Education Reform in Ghana

There have been lots of discussions on the future of secondary school education in Ghana today. A number of people have expressed their views on this subject. The only view currently that has not been sought is the view of students who are affected by the procrastination of our leaders.

I have read that the Vice President H.E John Mahama wants us to revert to the 3-year Senior Secondary School (SSS) while others such as Ms Elizabeth Ohene are advocating for a 4-year Senior High School (SHS).

I want to state that we are in the twenty first century and it is really a pity to see politicians tossing JHS and SHS students around. A decision will have to be made by someone without thinking of scoring political points. In this day and age, it should be easy to make decisions. It is easy to undertake research and draw comparisms with other systems all over the world using the internet to find out what works and what does not work. It is also easy to find the opinion of students from various schools easily. If this is done, we will find an answer to this problem easily.

Each day the sun rises we hear that the educational system has been changed – today JHS is three years, the next day it is 4 years. This is becoming very unsettling for students and having a negative impact on our studies. Nobody knows where we are with our educational system.

Oh ho, politicians, what at all are you trying to do to our lives? Politicians will have to consider the fact that we are the upcoming leaders of this country. In order to take over properly from them, we need to have a good educational system that can prepare us for the challenges of the future.

It is important that the present generation of students do not become a political football and a play thing for politicians. Again, politicians must remember that Ghana is not for any political party but for us all. If they care about us, then they need to find a solution to this problem without any further delay.

Let us resolve the educational crises that we have today with a system that works. That will surely ensure that Ghana maintains its place in the comity of nations.

Credit: Amanda Vanderpuye
Second year JHS Student,
Domi, Accra