Gov't 'clashes' with Catholic Bishops on SHS debate

The Deputy Minister of Education, Mahama Ayariga has questioned the proposal by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference for a return to the four-year system of Senior High School (SHS).

The former Bawku Central MP in an interview Citi Breakfast Show said the government’s priorities were directed at eliminating the deficiencies in the nation’s education system rather than the duration of the SHS.

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference in a communiqué reiterated its call on the government to bring back the four-year system of Senior High School (SHS) for the country to know its full benefits and disadvantages before deciding to make any changes or switch to other systems.

It stated that there was no denying the fact that, it was possible for students to finish the academic syllabus within three years, given greater commitment on the part of the teachers and co-operation from students.

The National Democratic Congress Parliamentary aspirant for Bawku Central Constituency however is of the opinion that the request is misplaced.

“The years just adds cost to government and parents and a waste of one whole year of the child’s time. We are seeking to deal with the problem and that is all; making sure that the foundation, that is basic education, is good and then making sure that we deal with the inefficiencies in the senior high, in terms of time on task, that is how much time teachers actually spend teaching and how many days they actually spend in the schooling year.”

He added that this was to ensure that the “real issues” were considered noting that “last year when we held the annual education dialogue we invited all the stakeholders, they were all there. The conclusion was that the major challenge in the education sector is inefficiency in the use of resources; and we all agree that we need to deal with that inefficiency first.”
 
Citifmonline.com