THE SHS DEBATE SETTLED (AUGUST 4, 2009)

THE decision by the government to change the duration of senior high school (SHS) from four to three years, effective this academic year, will be received by the generality of the public with mixed feelings.
Certainly, those who had opposed the extension of the duration in 2007 will welcome the decision as a step in the right direction.
And, as is the case with many issues of national concern for which reaching national consensus has not been easy, the proponents of the four-year duration and their supporters will describe the government’s move as ill-conceived.
For the next few days, the media and political commentators will take very entrenched positions on the matter, thereby making it difficult for ordinary people to be educated well on the subject.
We are not against open discussions of the issues concerning the country’s educational system. In traditional folklore, it is held that “Ti kro nko agyina”, meaning two heads are better than one. This suggests that our leaders must subject the issues to intense debate so that all the concerns can be factored into policy interventions.
Let us carry the debate beyond the decision taken by the government, always bearing in mind the national interest.
There is a problem with national discourse in recent times because in many instances outspoken persons in society force their positions on the silent majority.
The education forum held in May this year was part of the consultative process adopted by the government to seek other opinions on the duration of the SHS. That process was not meant to replace the authority of the government to provide the leadership in nation building.
The government and other groups and persons who support the three-year duration have identified the need for certain interventions to raise standards in our secondary schools.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on the government to take steps to provide the necessary tools and incentives to facilitate improved learning and teaching processes in our schools.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) pledged to the people to revert the duration of SHS from four to three years in an effort to reduce the cost of education on the state and parents.
For this reason, the DAILY GRAPHIC hopes the government will not waste time on the blame game but “hit the ground running” to find solutions to the challenges in the educational sector.
Our prayer is that we, as a nation, do not revisit this issue of the duration of SHS in the future but instead move in tandem with the government’s decision so that we do not jeopardise the future of our students who, to all intents and purposes, are our greatest assets.
The government has decided, but moving forward in the right direction will require all hands on deck to give hope to our future leaders with a functional educational system that provides access and motivate students to remain in the classroom until they have acquired employable skills or knowledge for self-employment.