Debate over SHS duration is unnecessary-NAGRAT

The Vice President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT)
has decried the ongoing brouhaha surrounding the reversion of the Senior
High School (SHS) duration from four to three years.
To Angel Kabonu, the debate over whether SHS duration should be three or
four is a non-starter that should not come up at all if government will want
to concentrate on delivering quality education. ³It is unfortunate that the
debate has been reduced to three years-four years. That debate is a non
starter as far as education delivery is concerned², Mr Kabonu told Emefa
Apawu, host of the Big Bite on Xfm 95.1, a private commercial radio station
in Accra.
The number of years for SHS education became a matter of priority when the
opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), when in government increased the
duration from three to four years.
The ruling National Democratic Congress(NDC), then in opposition protested
vehemently against the increase and promised that one of the first things
the party would do in the education sector when it wins power was to abolish
the four year duration to the earlier three year programme.
This the government did shortly after assuming the reins of government.
The NPP which seems not to be too happy with the change is demanding from
the NDC government an explanation why the Senior High School duration has
been reverted to three years. According to the party, since no significant
improvement has occurred in the school system under the Mills¹
administration, there was no need to squeeze the high school program from
four to three years.
However, to Mr Kabonu, the duration of the Senior High Education, is not as
important as what goes into education. He gave an example to further stress
home his point. ³For example, when you have good facilities, motivated
teachers and a congenial environment, and you put a student who is doing SHS
for two years, and then you have a very deplorable environment, unmotivated
teachers and you put a student who is doing SHS for 10 years, definitely,
the student who has two years is going to do better than the one with 10
years,² adding that ³so the issue is actually not about duration.²
Mr Kabonu who said he felt very uncomfortable and disturbed talking about
this issue said what government officials should concern themselves with is
what the content of education is and not necessarily its duration. ³In fact,
I get a little bit disturbed that we have reduced education delivery to this
duration. That is absolutely not the issue. The issue is what facilities
have we provided for our people? What is the environment for education in
this country? What is the content of education, what type of teachers stand
in front of the students to deliver education?² He said as long as these
issues remain unsolved, the high percentage of students failing in the end
of year exams will continue to increase.
He attributed the problems within the education sector in this country to
the lack of adaptation in the sector. ³We are a people that are so
conservative, who do not want to respond to change. We find change very
difficult and offensive. He said the over reliance on theoretical teaching
and what he called the ³classroom-based certificate-education² would
continue to be our bane if nothing pragmatic is done to arrest the problem
associated with education in the country. ³You have a situation where
students engage in practical activities outside the schools and they earn
credit for that. You come to our jurisdiction and all that we do is to hold
the student in class, subject him to a three-hour examination and this
determines the student¹s intellectuality for the past three or four years
the student has spent in school. No serious country is doing this. Secondly,
we are concentrating on theoretical teaching. You have a science student who
can really recall all the scientific theories but does not know any
practical issue. We have people who have gone through university education,
who have their Masters in engineering, meanwhile when their cars have
problems, they cannot even fix them. This is the problem of education in
this country and until the time that we change, we would just be running
around in circles².

Abena Asiedua Tenkorang/ Robert Israel Xfm95.1 Accra, Ghana