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21.08.2018 Opinion

Double-Track System—Constructing An Understanding From The Pieces

By Gaspar Sam
Double-Track System—Constructing An Understanding From The Pieces
21.08.2018 LISTEN

John F. Kennedy once said, “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education.” The human mind is our fundamental resource and the quicker we pay attention to developing the minds of the pupil through education the better it is for our country. I believe it is for this reason that each successful government places a high priority in providing affordable quality education for the people. Different regimes have come out with different educational policies.

The NDC brought the three-year SSS to the educational system of Ghana. The NPP not just changed it to four years but also changed the name from SSS to SHS when they took the mantle of leadership in 2001. NDC again changed it back to three years upon assumption of power in 2009. Now it has come to the turn of NPP again. This time round they are not extending the duration. Rather, they are widening the path so that many students can walk through it at the same time.

That is, they are introducing the double track system to replace the single-track system which has been in use by the Ghana education service since time immemorial. Why the need for a double track system? What do they mean by converting the SHS calendar to a semester system? What are the merits and demerits of this system?

The assumption is that since secondary education is now free, the majority of Ghanaian parents will enrol their wards in school. The educational sector does not have the requisite number of SHSs to absorb the overwhelming number of new students. For that reason, some consider there to be a need to adopt the double track system to be able to accommodate the teaming number of enrolments.

To put it in another way, in the past some children could not advance to SHS because their parents could not afford the high cost of education. Therefore, the government of the day has decided strategically to make education in SHS free to provide an equal platform for every Ghanaian child to have access to secondary education. How would government achieve this goal considering the infrastructural deficit?

The government has decided to adopt the double track system which was first proposed by Thomas Jefferson of America and has been tactically helpful to the American educational system. Under the double track system, the senior high school calendar would be converted into a semester system. This means that if we have hundred SHS students in the country, fifty pupils will be school while the other fifty would be home for holidays for a particular semester. So, fifty pupils will be in school for four months while the other fifty stay home for a four-month holiday.

The advocates have come out with a number of reasons why the double track system is workable and serves to solve the educational impasse of the country. Some of the reasons suggested are: first, it will create room to accommodate the increase in enrolments. Since government cannot build enough schools to accommodate the increment in students as a result of the free education, some argue that this is the best approach to tackle the problem.

Second, those in favour assume that the system will help implement class size reduction. There will be fewer students per class without any corresponding increment in cost in terms of building more classrooms. In other words, the student-teacher ratio will decrease which will be very good for teachers to get to know their students well, identify student’s weak spots and find solutions for their individual problems. Education experts over the years, across the globe have advocated for smaller class sizes as a means of promoting effective student learning.

Third, it will increase the number of contact hours. Though research has revealed that there is lack of relationship between class contact hours and outcomes in higher education (in the world ranking of universities, some of the open universities are ranked higher than traditional universities), this may not be true for the SHS level. At the SHS level the number of contact hours is likely to be more germane to performance. More so, students at this level need more contacts for proper guidance and instructions to prepare them become independent at the tertiary level.

Last but not least, the system will also increase the number of holidays. Students used to spend more time in schools and less time at home. However, this system is likely to provide a balanced work-rest time for students. This may be good because students can use the holiday period to learn extra-curricular skills which will be useful for their holistic future development. For example, students who have talents in music, arts, or sport may use their holiday period to properly develop them.

The system appears to be very juicy, mouth-watering and attractive, considering all the benefits outlined above. However, some educational think tanks and stakeholders, political activists, and some individuals have critiqued the system. Even though they have acknowledged it as a viable alternative to building more schools, they think that the disadvantages of the system far outweigh its merits. What are some of their arguments against the implementation of the system?

First of all, those who hold contrary view assert that if care is not taken, the system will promote deviant behaviour. It is said that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. The six months per year that students would spend in the house for holidays is unprecedentedly long and may lead them to involve in acts of indiscipline if they are not engaged in something else. When children spend too much time unengaged in productive ventures, they can be negatively influenced by their peers.

Adding to that is the fact that, in Ghana we only read mostly for academic purposes, not for leisure or pleasure. So, giving students the leverage to stay away from their books for half of a year is encouraging them not to read for same period which can be catastrophic to their educational development. Knowledge is built up over time in layers. What I learnt in algebra B is a build up to what I leant in algebra A, and if I forget the lessons in A, it may affect my understanding in B.

Moreover, the nature of the holidays may not be convergent. Ghana is a religious country and people value religious holidays and are always happy to celebrate such holidays with friends and families together. It appears some students are likely to be in school during festive occasions like Christmas, and Easter holidays. Usually these are holidays where all schools go on break almost at the same time. Some students would be denied important family and religious reunions during these kinds of holidays.

Until this system is properly explained as one former minister proposed, it rather appears the system is going to reduce the number of contact hours per academic year. A typical semester is made up of four to five months, and two semesters will have at most ten months. Even if, in the double-track system one semester takes six months, it means that each track will spend only three months per semester in school. In a nutshell, students will spend six months in school, and six months at home per academic year which is less than the number of months they currently spend in school in the single-track system. So, the assumption that the double track system will increase the number of contact hours is questionable. It will be good if authorities throw more light on how the time spent at school will increase.

There are other pertinent questions waiting to be answered by those who support the system and are lobbying for it to be implemented. For example, the issue of teachers and how they will be engaged. While the economists are concerned that the system will result to employing more teachers, which will burden the national coffers, the double track system advocates think otherwise.

According to some, government will not employ more teachers beyond what they would have employed in the single-track system. Others were also heard saying that teachers would be well off when this system is implemented. The question is, will teachers get to choose if they want to work in both tracks?

What will happen to private schools, will they be barred from operating? If not, there is a high likelihood that the well-to-do parents would prefer to enrol theirs wards in private schools. This may negatively affect the reputation of public schools. They will turn to be schools for the poor, and that will amount to a kind of segregation. If government ends up barring private schools from operating, then a lot of revenue will be lost to the state. Coupled with that, over the years private schools have contributed very generously in terms of the calibre of students they have produced. It will be more of a hurt than help for the nation to stop them from operation.

Weighing the pros and cons of the double track system, both sides of the arguments have convincing reasons that deserve our support. It will therefore be good if government can hold a comprehensive dialogue with the various stakeholders, parents and even political opponents to get to a point where there will be a national consensus on the issue. Our good book commands us to be quick to listen but slow to speak.

Government ought to pause and listen and take into consideration the various inputs to ensure a successful implementation of the system. Opposition members should also be sincere. If they know that the system has a high success rate, they should lean forth to support the program for the sake of the future of our beloved Ghana. Government too should know that if they forcibly implement it without any piloting, the consequences may be unbearable.

Gaspar Asampana
Bolgatanga

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