The deputy ranking member for Parliament Select Committee on Education, Dr. Clement Apaak says the implementation of the Free Senior High Schools (FSHS) has challenges that need to be addressed.
The lawmaker’s call comes on the back of President Akufo-Addo’s recent commendation of the policy vis a vis the results in West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) so far.
Delivering an address at the 70th Anniversary Celebration of Opoku Ware Senior High School, President Akufo-Addo noted that the 2022 WASSCE results of the third batch of the graduates shows 60.39% of students recording A1-C6 in English, as opposed to 51.6% in 2016.”
In Integrated Science, he noted that 62.45% recorded A1-C6 in Integrated Science in 2022, as opposed to 48.35% in 2016, with the 2022 result being a slight regression from the 2021 pass rate of 65.70%.
President Akufo-Addo added that 61.39% of students recorded A1-C6 in Mathematics, as compared to 33.12% in 2016; and 71.51% recorded A1-C6 in Social Studies, as compared to 54.55% in 2016.
But the deputy ranking member indicated a national discussion on the policy will make it better.
“No one is against the policy, the call is for a comprehensive plan to address the implementation challenges, aimed at making FSHS work even better.
“The results could have been better but for the challenges. A national conversation or review is long overdue,” Mr. Apaak stated in a tweet on Sunday December 4 2022.
However, according to President Akufo-Addo, “six (6) years on following the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy, which has guaranteed a minimum of Senior High School education for 1.7 million Ghanaian children, the highest such enrolment in our history, I can state, without equivocation, that I am very proud of the policy and of its results thus far.”
“Lest we forget, the 2021 batch of students, who also obtained very commendable results, were the pioneers of the double track system, which elicited a lot of vilification and unfounded criticism on its introduction,” he said.
The President continued, “The 2022 results are the best of the last eight (8) years. Surely, there can no longer be any controversy about the validity of the Free SHS policy and its consequential measures. It is working, and working well.
—Starrfm—
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