'Ghanaian schools close too early, it affects productivity' - Education minister

Education minister, Mathew Opoku Prempeh, is calling on the National Council for Curriculum Assessment to carefully look into the closing time of basic schools in the country.

The minister is of the view that the time at which pupils close from class subsequently affects the productivity of Ghana since parents and guardians would have to sacrifice work hours to pick up their wards from school. Speaking at an event concerning education in Ghana, the minister asked "why can't schools close at 4 PM".

The comments by the education minister follows an earlier move by his predecessor, Prof. Jane Nana Opoku Agyemang to strike out the shift systems in basic public schools as part of efforts to prevent pupils from practicing truancy.

Meanwhile, government says it stays committed to providing free and compulsory senior high school education. What this means is that the current batch of BECE candidates will have the opportunity of being signed on to the free-SHS program provided they pass their BECE papers.