The Ministry of Education yesterday reassured parents of candidates who wrote this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) that preparations for the admission of first-year senior high school (SHS) students in September this year were on course.
Consequently, there should be no panic or fear, as there would be admissions in September this year for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Ordinarily, this assurance should have put matters to rest and assuage the fears of not only parents and their children but also all Ghanaians concerning the rumours making the rounds that there will be no admissions to SHS next academic year.
But we are worried, and for genuine reasons too. First, we know that September is barely a month away and we fear that the government may not be able to provide the needed infrastructure to cater for the SHS One students who will enter our SHSs this September
At best, some of the new classroom blocks and dormitories have just been started and the likelihood is there that they will not be ready by September when SHSs will reopen for the new academic year.
Second, it is obvious that every school, not some selected schools, needs those facilities to cater for the fresh students. Therefore, if the government has begun construction works in schools that are in high demand, then what will be the fate of those schools which are not in high demand but which must still admit their quota of fresh students in September?
That education is the means to develop the human resource of our country has never been in doubt. That is why the Daily Graphic strongly believes that at this critical period in our history the government must dig deep into its coffers to find the wherewithal to provide the classrooms to cater for the fresh students.
It may have to do this by cutting expenditure to other sectors of the economy or even over-borrowing. Whatever it takes to do this, it will be money well spent on a good project.
However, if we fail to do this and rather end up either suspending SHS One admissions for one year or carrying out partial admissions to some selected schools, the ramification will be with us for a long time to come.
We must also consider the trauma we are likely to put our BECE candidates to and the impact it will have on them and their parents.
The DAILY GRAPHIC would want to seize this opportunity to call for the depolitisation of our educational sector, so that we can have one continuous educational policy, no matter the party in power.
That way, we can, as a country, work with an educational policy for a long time, without having to truncate it when there is a change in government.
We pray that when the bill to restore SHS education to three years is passed, it will stay like that for as long as possible for the country to work with it.
Any moment from now, the results of this year’s BECE will be released and the least we can do to the thousands of would-be SHS One students is give them hope that their toils in JHS will not be in vain.
Let us will ourselves to provide the facilities in ALL SHSs in the country, after which we can pat ourselves on the back for a good work done.
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