WHAT IS THE CRIME OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GHANA?
WHAT IS THEIR CRIME?
BENJAMIN ASANTE
University of Education, Winneba
GHANA
Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Various views have been expressed about Ghana’s second cycle education since the seven-year
system was phased out and especially since the duration of secondary education was reduced from
four to three years. This paper contributes to that debate. On the basis of the analysis of past
questions and chief examiners' reports of Senior Secondary School/West African Senior School
Certificate Examinations (SSSCE/WASSCE), and a comparison of the volumes of books at the
SHS with books on similar subjects at the University, the paper argues that not only are SHS
students heavily loaded, the transition from SHS to university is fraught with serious academic
problems relating to the capacity of the university entrants in essay writing as the
SSSCE/WASSCE questions are predominantly oriented towards recall, paying little or no attention
to synthesis, evaluation, analysis, assessment and critique. This study calls not only for the
extension of the duration of the SHS but also for the reintroduction of the GCE Advanced Level
(‘A’ Level). While waiting for the change to be effected, WAEC is urged to reconsider the nature
of questions that it sets for the SSSCE/WASSCE.
Keywords: ‘A’ level, SSSCE/WASSCE Questions, Blooms Taxonomy, SHS Books, Duration of
SHS, University Education
1. Introduction
It is said that education is the greatest asset parents can bequeath to their children. Whilst that is a
truism, it is not any education at all but a particular type, quality education. It is essential for
educators to engage in reflective practice if that is to be realized so as not to unconsciously forget
ourselves and fail to do self-assessment.
2. Objectives of the Paper
The paper seeks to achieve the following objectives scrupulously without turning to left or right.
 To rehearse the debate on the duration of the Senior High education in Ghana
 To discuss the nature of workload at the SHS level and its implications for the students
 To examine relationships among the structure of SSSCE/WASSCE examinations, Bloom’s
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives using and their implications for university studies
 To describe the nature of ‘A’ Level education and examination
 To explain why the old system was abolished
 To recommend three issues for policy action and draw the nation’s attention to sublime
consequences of the current system.
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3. Statement of the Problem
In contrast to medical practice where one doctor is solely responsible for the treatment of a patient,
the educational system is a ladder in which what happens at the earlier rungs affects the subsequent
issues. Unfortunately, research at the tertiary level is often limited to that level alone thus losing
the precious lessons that could have been learnt from the other levels. University lectures teach
students from the Senior High level and failure to delve into what pertains at that level does not
augur well for efficient teaching and management of academic problems confronted by their
students. Thus, the debate over the secondary education in Ghana often receives little inputs from
lecturers. Regrettably, none of the debaters has attempted to situate his/her discussion in any
theoretical or conceptual framework that will provide rallying point of coherent debate
(source???). This work seeks to fill this urgent gap. Again, whilst many Ghanaians wish that A’
Level was reintroduced (source???), they are oblivious of the unfamiliarity of the current
generation of Ghanaian students to the nature of ‘A’Level, thus weakening their ability to convince
them. Nor has any of the debaters provided empirical evidence to corroborate their positions. It is
only Djangmah who alludes to the percentage pass rate among endowed and non-endowed
schools.
4. Literature review
Since 2005 a debate with intermittent currents has been going on concerning the duration of
secondary education in Ghana, a debate which experiences ebbs and flows. The contributors are in
two opposing camps: the group ably represented by Jerome Siau Djangmah (2010; Asante Yeboah 2011) argues that longer duration is good for the majority of students. He questions why
the big men look for better schools for their children. Concurring with Djangmah, Addae-Mensah
(2004) provides interesting statistics indicating that between 30% and 50% of applicants to the
University of Ghana obtained the required aggregate (24) at more than one sitting, a situation
which is worrying in view of most of such applicants coming from the top schools in Ghana. He
reveals this was not all that different from that of KUST. He also indicates that he presented his
position at the Anamuah-Mensah Committees sittings. An amphibious position is taken Yankah
(2016) who prefers a blend of the two in view of the wide disparities among the schools. The other
group whose advocates includes NAGRAT (2010; Anku 2009) not only ridicules the campaign for
a longer duration, but considers the whole debate on duration as non-starter. In between the two,
Ace Ankomah (2009) referring to the see-saw regarding the duration as gutter-to-gutter-football
and alluding to the views of the venerable J. H. Mensah, bemoans the seeming politicization of
Ghana’s education and points to a caution, a politicization which IMANI’s Franklin Cudjoe (2015
) also abhors. Kwesi Attaa (2012, 2015) diagnoses the numerous ills of the country’s educational
system including poor infrastructure, a bulky curriculum, gradual emergence of elitism and examconscious teaching. He provides some statistics about pass rates at the SSS Level and decries the
inability of the majority to qualify to the tertiary, a development which accounts for social vices
including ‘sakawa.’ He observes that the system is designed to frustrate as many students as
possible. He provides statistics on performance at the SSSCE/WASSCE to buttress his view that
the system frustrates the students. The percentage that qualified for admission to tertiary
institutions is repectively12.51, 10.58, 12.95, 14.58, 26.00, 31.19, 19.15 and 28.10 for the years
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 respectively. Addressed directly to the then
Minister of Education, he draws attention to what he calls the examination disaster of 1993 which
compelled the government to issue a directive to the universities concerning how to admit those
students. He draws attention to high rate of failure, re-taking of the exam via remedial and the
behind-the-scenes coaching that participants in the Science and Mathematics Quiz undergo. Of
more direct relevance to this work is the view that SSS is higher than ‘O’ Level but lower than ‘A’
Level. He observes “by cutting the number of years from five to three coupled with the complete
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removal of the two years intervening ‘A’ Level without any corresponding change in tertiary
institutions, the bridge linking secondary to university was broken. The truth is that the former ‘A’
Level served as an excellent link for the smooth transition from secondary to tertiary education.”
(pp.???). He also notes a very important issue often forgotten by all the contributors: how many
years of study the SHS students have lost. This, to him, is 20% time spent in learning. He pleads
for a relook at the duration or the content. Perhaps, the most influential document in this debate is
the Anamuah-Mensah Committee’s Report. Having listed a litany of problems associated with
basic education (poor quality teaching by teachers who are poorly prepared to teach, lack of
effective guidance and counseling system in the schools, high pupil-teacher ratios especially in
some rural and sub-urban areas, ineffective use of contact hours, overemphasis on grammar,
inability to strengthen pupils basic academic skills (reading and writing), poor linkage between the
JSS and SSS curriculum, lack of infrastructural facilities, wholesale/mass promotion, poor
supervision schools, ineffective assessment methods, lack of emphasis on the development of
critical competencies in pupils, inadequate funding, lack of library services) it goes on to say that “
if the quality at the basic level is improved as proposed by the Committee, it will have positive
effect on quality at the senior secondary level without changing the duration” (source, pp. #). It
then added three other reasons for their endorsement of the retention of the 3-year system :( ii)
results from some senior secondary schools demonstrate that it is possible to achieve high
standards within the three year period, (iii) the internationalization of the SSSCE…. compels
Ghana to conform to the 3-year duration as done by other member countries of WAEC (iv) The de
Heer-Amissah Review recommendation has been implemented (61) given adequate resources
(2002: 44). One would be curious to know why the highly experienced members of the Committee
employed the quantifier ‘some’ in point ii. The answer lies in the numerical strength of the number
upon which their argument is based, and Djangmah provides an insight into that. The percentage
that qualified to the tertiary was 13, 18 and 17 for 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively. It is
intriguing to note in addition that 20% (86) of 429 secondary schools at the time produced 76%,
72% and 73% of candidate, who qualified in the given years. To individuate this, Djangmah
provides some statistics on the performance of some schools to demonstrate the gaping disparity
that prevails among the schools. St James Seminary, St Francis Xavier Jnr. Seminary, St Peters and
Wesley Girls presented 215, 44, 300, 406 candidates respectively and recorded 99%, 98%, 96%
and 95% passes respectively. In contrast, some schools had only between 1 and 3 candidates
qualifying, even though presented as many as between 400 and 600 candidates. More than 12
schools scored zero percent in the 2004 SSSCE, whilst more than 88 schools recorded single
numbers*.
5. Methodology
Two sources of data were employed in the study. Primary data comprised of purposive sampling of
books at the Senior High level for the General Arts Programme, SSSCE/WASSCE past questions
compiled from SHS books and from WAEC and ‘A’ Level questions for selected years obtained
from the Public Affairs Directorate at WAEC. These were presented in tabular form and discussed
accordingly. The secondary sources included published works on the debate over the SHS
programme.
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6. Workload at the SHS Level
Table 1.
Author
Peter Asiedu (Aki-Ola)
Peter Asiedu (Aki-Ola)
Peter Asiedu
Benony Gordor et al
Afari, A.
Vorsa, A.R.
Omobowale, T.
Gideon, B.
Kwesi, K.
Halifax, S.
Alidu and Korankye
Nunoo-Mettle
Subject/title
Core Mathematics
Elective Mathematics
English
Elective Maths for SHS
Social Studies
Literature-in-English
Literature-in-English
Elective Literature
Government
Government
Simplied Economics
Christian Religious Studie
Number of pages
878
752
606
528
478
304
562
460
570
578
487
561
Comparing this to university books, the reader will appreciate the curriculum-rape we are
committing against SHS students.
Table 2. Volume of randomly selected books in Political Science
AUTHOR
Austin, Dennis
Ball, Allan
Blau Peter
Chazan, Naomi
Chalseworth, James
Connoly William
Coplin Willaim
Dahl Robert
Dyke Vernon
Easton David
Ebenstein Alan
Heywood Andrews
Hedley Bull
Isaak Allan
Lawson Kay
Nnoli Okwanniba
Nwabuzor & Mueller
Nugent Paul
Nkrumah Kwame
Miller David (ed)
Oquaye Mike
Owusu Maxwell
Pogge
Pollock
Polsby (ed.)
TITLE
Politics in Ghana, 1946-60
Modern Politics and Government
Bureaucracy and Modern Society
Anatomy of Ghanaian Politics
Contemporary Political Analysis
The Terms of Political Discourse
Intro. to International Politics
Politics: Who Gets What, When and HOW?
Political Science: A philosophical Enquiry
The Political System
Introduction to Political Thinkers
Politics
The Anarchical Society
Scope and Methods of Political Science
The Human Polity
Introduction to Politics
Introduction to Political Science for African Students
Big Men, Small Boys and Politics in Ghana
Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah
The Blackwell Encylopaedia of Political Thought
Politics in Ghana 1972-79
Uses and Abuses of Political Power
The State
Essentials of Political Analysis
Handbook of Political Science,Vol.1
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PAGES
476
253
240
429
342
257
391
264
228
320
357
460
335
257
448
234
250
281
256
544*
286
419
206
219
399
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Popper Karl
The Open Society and Its Enemies: The Spell of Plato
Bluwey Gilbert Keith Political Science: An Introduction
384
271
With the exception of encyclopedias and few other compendiums it is difficult to find a university
books which 400 pages. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy at Balme Library is 866 pages;
the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Thought is 554 pages;. For the Encyclopedias no one is
expected to read all as they are similar to dictionaries. Thus one only looks up for the meaning of
terms.
7. The Structure of SSSCE/WASSCE Questions and Blooms Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives/ principles of national curriculum
According to the Anamuah-Mensah Committee Report (year), quality education involves
“learning outcomes that demonstrate adequate knowledge, skills and attitudes linked to national
educational goals (2002:47) and of the seminal works on educational outcomes is that of Bloom.
Blooms Taxonomy of Educational explains the goals that teaching should seek to achieve
(source???). It classifies knowledge into cognitive, affective and psychomotor (Dampson 2010;
Ogunniyi 1984). The centrality of the cognitive is attested to by its latent presence in the other two
dimensions. By the way, the cognitive is about mental processes of remembering, comprehending,
analyzing, comparing, evaluating, and synthesizing. The basic level of knowledge is recall, the
ability to memorise and retrieve information. In real life, there are routine activities that require the
ability to recall information within seconds as in giving one’s phone number to another, writing
your bank account number etc. In assessment, recall is often tested by operative words like give,
define, what is, mention, state, enumerate. Comprehension is understanding, the ability to reduce a
mass of information. It is measured by words like explain, why, how account for, illustrate, and
demonstrate among others. The highest form of knowledge involves the capacity to look at
something beyond the surface; the ability to read between the lines. Words like examine, evaluate,
discuss, to what extent, assess, appraise, critically assess are employed. In real life, there are many
situations in which a person should be able to critically look at what he/she is told, else one will be
manipulated and exploited. With analysis and synthesis one is able to sift through a mass of
information, break it down and explain how they are related. Words like analyse and compare
serves that purpose.
This is in line with the country’s educational philosophy and principle which state among others
“the promotion of analytical, creative, critical and problem solving skills” (MOE 2002:13)
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Distribution of operative words in SSSCE/WASSCE Government Questions (2006-2015)
Word/Year
Describe
Define
Discuss
Explain
Give
Highlight
How
Identify
Outline
State
What is
Why
Total
2006-08/f
2
2
3
7
4
8
3
11
40
2009-11/f
1
2
3
1
14
10
7
3
8
1
50
2012-14/f
1
3
3
10
4
8
5
7
41
2015-16/Frequency???
-(4)
1(8)
-(0)
-(9)
-(0)
4(35) (23.8%)
1(1)
2(18)(13.6)
1(24)(16.3)%
3(14)
5(31) (21.0%
-(1)
17
Out of a total of 148 questions, Highlight, Identify, Outline, what is and state took (35,18,24, 31
and 14) 122 (82.4%). The remaining percentage catered for comprehension. Thus for a period of
ten years WAEC has never tested for the higher domains of knowledge. Ten years! In fact, as the
author was going through the past questions, he created columns for examine, discuss, assess and
evaluate, but since he realized that there was none in the ten years, he constructed table without
them. Admittedly between 1993 and 2005 WAEC employed examine five times and discuss nine
times but why did they stop. The Chief Examiners’ Report provides a hint: “six out of eight
questions asked began with discuss, one with Comment and another with Examine. Why should
candidates merely narrate?”(for emphasis)
Going further, the report identifies the use of irrelevant material, an elaborate introduction, failure
to address the demands/requirements of questions as very worrying incidence. Their advice to
candidates is that “questions are to be studied carefully, demands/requirements noted, before
candidates begin to write” (WAEC 2008: 19-21). A similar advice goes for candidates offering
Government “candidates should read their questions over and over to ensure that they understand
the demand of the question” (ibid. 178)
Did the above recommendation end the problem? In the 2009 Report and concerning Government,
listing the weaknesses of candidates, it mentioned among others “a good number of candidates
deviated because they did not understand the demands of the question” and as suggestion to
remedy the situation says “candidates should be encouraged to take time to read and understand
questions very well before answering them” In the literature-in-English section, the Report
identifies “narrating stories when they should be discussing, analyzing, or explaining specific
notions….as a weakness and suggest again “ the specific demands of a question need to be
tackled; merely narrating the events of the story rarely answers questions that call for analysis and
discussion” (WAEC 2009, 197-98).
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In the year 2000 it says concerning question 4 that “ it must be pointed out however that some
candidates did not talk about the demerits of political parties probably because they did not
understand the question”.
This was question in which asked candidates to examine the functions of political parties in a state
but some candidates did not understand the implications of operative word, examine, thus limiting
themselves only to the positive roles of political parties.
This explains the recurring deviation that he and other lectures have been experiencing semester
after semesters. For instance, students deviated the following questions for various years
1. How far was the World Bank’s assertion of crises of governance in Africa true of
Ghana at the time?
2. Citing examples from The Politics, explain the causes of political instability
3. Citing examples from conflicts in Africa, examine the effectiveness of mediation
and negotiation as means of resolving conflicts
4. Examine the view that Nkrumah was a prodigal son (2016)
5. Who would you become after studying political science?
6. Critically examine the arguments of dependency theories (December 2015)
7. Democracy is qualified by the adjective liberal. Explain the liberal component.
8. Examine the view that the Marxist theory of the state has no relevance to the
political economy of Ghana between 1975 and 1979
9. Attempt a deconstruction of the Hobbesian theory of political obligation.
In question 1 since the World Bank made that statement in 1989 and since the class had done
Politics in Ghana from 1946 to the present, the author asked that question, having taught them the
nature of good governance. So the candidates were simply to identify the regime in Ghana in 1989
and see whether it qualified for the good governance indices: accountability, transparency, respect
for rights, rule of law, stakeholder participation, responsiveness, equity among others. In question,
The Politics is the book of Aristotle which the class knew for Ancient Political Thought. The
prepositional phrase from The Politics implied that the candidate should rely on a particular source
to answer that question. Regrettably out of 49 candidates who attempted that question only three
got it correct. My greatest shock was when the noun phrase ‘prodigal son’ was able to trick a class
of twenty. In question 5, all that the author wanted was for the candidate to apply the points to
himself/herself but many did not. He is still struggling to recover from the shock arising from the
deviation of question 8. The deviation recorded in question 9 in which the author thought that
candidates will unpack the word deconstruction by employing simple morphological analysis in
which to construct is self-explanatory and the prefix de meaning reverse. Hence, if Hobbes
constructed a theory, the candidate should reverse it by criticism. In fact, since then that word has
become abomination to the author.
8. The Nature of ‘A’ Level’
But what was the value of the system which had to be phased out because of the economic crisis of
Africa in general and Ghana in particular? ‘A’ Level is still regarded in UK as the most
appropriate qualification for entry to Universities, implying its continuous existence in the UK1. It
is a system which has been tried and tested and proven (Oquaye 2004:479). But to appreciate I
seek to discuss the nature of University education in relation to the SHS/’A’ Level so that we can
appreciate which one prepares students better for university studies. ‘A’ Level required a student to
study only three subjects, thus enhancing specialization and in-depth study. University studies are
very demanding. The style of writing in these books at that levelis not meant for immature
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students. Consequently the pre-university level should toughen students for such a study. A
comparison of the phraseology of ‘A’ Level and SSS questions may illustrate this point.
9. The Structure of ‘A’ Level Questions (Government)
*Summer 2012
Word
topic/theme
Discuss
region and voting
Analyse
view of more intraparty differences than interparty
Assess
view that British Constitution fails to limit power of govt.
Discuss
the extent to which MPs represent their constituencies
Discuss
view that funding is the most significant problem of local
Discuss
view that American political parties lack ideology
Discuss
view that elections in USA are as democratic as they can
Critically evaluate
whether pressure groups in USA undermine democracy
Assess
whether liberal thinking has had more impact
Assess critically
that US Constitution puts too much emphasis on rights
May 2013
Discuss
partisan identification and elections
Discuss
electoral systems in UK in urgent need of reform
Assess
whether the structures and internal process of UK parties
Summer 2014
Evaluate
the importance of the representative role of local govt.
Evaluate
the view that parties do not matter in US politics today
Analyse
whether the US Constitution maintains effective balance
Assess
whether ethnicity is more important in UK voting
Critically assess
where power really lies in the core executives in Wale&
Critically assess
principle of tolerance undermines liberalism

Cambridge International Examinations
Each ‘A’ question has three parts: 1a, b and c. The Ia tests recall as it always begins with What; 1b
tests comprehension-it is response to an excerpt and Ic tests the highest domain of knowledge. An
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examination of WAEC ‘A’ Level questions over a ten a year period2 indicated the following:
questions demanding a critique (examine, comment on, consider, evaluate, assess, analyse and
differentiate, do you agree, describe and examine, outline and discuss etc) constituted 76.18%
whilst those of recall (what, trace, describe etc) catered for the remaining 24%
The author could recall clearly an ‘A’Level’ Economics question as a common market is a mixedblessing Discuss and another one ‘there is an inverse relationship between the quantity demanded
of a commodity and the price. Discuss
Consequently, the ‘A’ Level student was intellectually and academically more mature than the SSS
student. Thus in 1997 when universities admitted both ‘A’ Level and SSS applicants, a course
outline at the Department of Political Science had the following:
Department of Political Science, University of Ghana
POLI 203: Political Institutions
Course Outline and Reading List 1997/98-Semester I
Course Description
POLI 203 or Political Institutions is designed to introduce students coming into Political Science
for the first time to the nature, structure, function and the underlying principles of the basic
institutions of a modern political system
REQUIREMENT
GCE ‘’A’’ Level holders need no special requirements to do the course. SSS Students should
have passed POLI 101 and 102!
Does a person needs to be a semanticist to interpret the clause in italics: ‘A’ Level holders need
NO special requirement but SSS Students should have passed a qualifying course. This means that
the beginning of university studies, the ‘A’Level student was ahead of the SHS student; that is why
he needs no special requirement.
The style of writing by most authors at the university level and especially in the social sciences is
not meant for such students. A definition of institution as “reciprocal typification of habitualised
actions by some kinds of actors’ attracted the comment by a lawyer that it is difficult. The very
titles of journal articles are mostly repelling: Virgil, G. Jnr. (1948) Epistemological Relativism
and the Sociology of Knowledge; Landau (1968). The Myth of hyperfactualism in the study of
Politics; A Prolegomena to Ethics; Dahl (1961) The Behavioral Approach in Political Science:
Epitah for a Monument to a Successful Protest. That is just tip of the iceberg. Many university
books are not easy to understand and require intellectual maturity. I refer the reader to Michael
Sandel’s Liberalism and the Limits of Justice where one comes across expressions like Kantian
liberals; priority of plurality; the unencumbered self; the original position; the Achimedian Point;
etc. or Rawls’ A Theory of Justice with its original position, the veil of ignorance; Or Hobbes’
Leviathan with its numerous definitions of terms and archaic style; or Locke’s Two Treatise with
its compressed arguments; or John Hick’s Philosophy of Religion with its terms like
anthropomorphism, cosmological, ontological and design arguments; theodicy and judeo-Christian
view of something or Hegel’s Philosophy of Right or its commentary; Marx’ and Engels’
Communist Manifesto or Marx’s Das Kapital or Huddleston’s English Grammar: an outline. Even
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Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics will disturb a student who did not read literature, given its
drama form
10. Why the Old System was Abolished
But why was this done? Why was the old system phased out? Any student of Ghanaian politics or
history or economies knows what I am going to say. The later parts of the 1970 to the mid-1980s
were period of economic crisis in Africa, not only Ghana. the manifestation of the crises include a
drastic stagnation and decline of GDP, galloping inflation, worsening terms of trade and general
decline in standard of living.
•
Sierra Leone domestic borrowing rose by 330% 80-85
•
Zambia economy stagnated between 1970-85
•
Malawi exports declined by 40%; current deficit 7% of GDP to 18% in 1990
•
Sierra Leone GDP 2% 70-80 to zero 83-87
•
Kenya inflation 3-4% pre-1974 to 11% 74-90
•
Malawi 6.5% 65-75 to 10% 75-84; overall budget deficit 6.2% of GDP 77-78 to 11% 80-81
•
Bad weather-drought in Cameroon 82-83; Kenya 74-75; 79-80; 83-84; Ghana 78-79; 82-83
•
Oil crises 73-4; 79-80; world recession
•
Increased protection by developed countries
•
High interest rates; terms of trade
Ghana’s experience in that period was the greater part of Acheampong rule (1975-78) extending to
mid-1983. The crisis were the results of bad weather conditions-drought and bush fires (in the case
of Ghana), worsening terms of trade, decline in concessionary finance, massive leadership failure
and the oil-price hikes of 1973/4. (Ayemadu 1993; Frimpong-Ansah 1991; Collier 1999; Rothchild
1991; Giovanni 1992; Lubin 1997) The severity of the crisis could be gauged from the continentwide Lagos Plan of Action adopted by the OAU in 1980, an action which was significant in view
of the reluctance of African leaders since the days of Nkrumah, to commit themselves to efforts at
continental unity. But the severity crisis compelled them to adopt a collective policy. The
Ghanaian reader should gauge the nature of the crisis by looking at Ghana in 1983.
Ghana’s position at the time was aggravated by the expulsion of about two million Ghanaians from
Nigeria, probably in retaliation to the 1969 Aliens Compliance Order. Having failed to secure
assistance from the Eastern Europe, Rawlings had to tone down on his anti-western rhetoric in
order to court some friendship with the Bretton Woods Institutions through his able secretary of
finance Dr. Kwasi Botchwey. Sensing opposition from his early converts, Rawlings driving home
the need for realistic measures to address the precarious economic situation, reminded them that
populist nonsense must give way to populist sense. Eventually the PNDC adopted the IMFSponsored Structural Adjustment Programmes, an aspect of which was the cutting down of
government expenditure whose manifestation included the current educational system with its
reduction of the number of years, hence the amount of money government would have spent on the
seven years, among others1. That is to say, four years reduction was the result of unprecedented
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economic conditions that confronted the nation: bush fires and drought, shortage of goods, decayed
infrastructure, expulsion of Ghanaians from Nigeria and the negative legacies of Acheampong’s
rule especially from 1975 till that date. This historical economic situation justified that policy. But
is Ghana still in that condition? In fact, on the contrary Ghana has not only outlived that condition,
but she has also discovered oil and become middle income country.
Returning to the issue of performance at the university and without empirical evidence, thousands
of students come out of our universities every year, with all classes. But this should not be
superficially considered; in most cases providers of a service are reluctant to reveal how they see
that service. But as I have already said, that should not deceive any person. The revelation that
only few secondary schools in Ghana produce the greater majority of university entrants, leaves a
number of questions unanswered. The majority who fail to gain admission go for first, second and
third world wars in remedial schools whichproliferate especially in Accra. Adding the number of
remedial studies that many Ghanaians students go through, we are getting near the same old five
years.
In a rare display of boldness, twelve Ph.D holders, one professor and one M.Phil. holder (all
lecturers) observe “most students, even at the tertiary level, cannot write well” due among others
to “the change from GCE examinations to the JSS and SSS system” consequently “ it is becoming
impossible to produce quality graduates ( ISSER 2011:208 para 3; 209 para 2, 4) and the
Anamuah-Mensah Committees report did not mince words when it noted that “some students enter
tertiary institutions with deficiencies in communication skills and inability to adjust to the rather
‘free’ tertiary environment (2002:129).
11. Conclusion/Discussion
University learning is about specialization, hence the pursuit of only two subjects. That being the
case loading SHS students with EIGHT subjects and reducing the years in addition does not make
for specialization. Touching more on university, it must be noted that university learning does not
require only intellectual ability; it also requires sociological and emotional maturity. It is generally
referred to as autonomous learning captured in the popular saying ‘you are reading a subject.’ The
travails of learning at the university require an ability to manage one’s own life, understand what
the future is, resist a lot of pressures and in a word, exhibit maturity. Whilst SHS is copying of
notes, university is reading. Again, nobody supervises the private activities of the student as
opposed to SHS where a house master, prep and morning assemblies exist. In the absence of
‘Dinning’ or feeding which existed at the boarding school, the student now rents a hostel, prepares
his/her own food, deal with noisy roommates and other unpleasant human behaviours.
Autonomous learning corresponds to experience in autonomous living. An SHS student has not
experimented with autonomous living before. A look at the faces of many students indicates that
they are too young for university learning. The commission of suicide by a student who failed
three courses at the University of Eduation, Winneba, was a manifestation of immaturity; being too
young and inexperienced, he could not manage failure. In contrast, the ‘A’Level’ holder does
national service on completion of his/her studies, a service which normally sent him/her to a
village to teach. At the end of such a service, the person has experienced life, independent living,
managing scarce resources and coping with challenges, and hence better prepared for autonomous
learning. A case in point is the writing of long essays where a student may have to write one
chapter more three times; he/she will have to search for materials from the net and sometimes
travel to places to undertake one form of survey the other. Reading seven courses in semester and
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be urged by lectures to read as many chapters of books as possible is pressure. Have they
complained? They cannot because that is their generation. The fight for the abolition of slave trade
was undertaken not by slaves, even though slave revolts occurred.
What is being is said is that by wickedly reducing a seven year curriculum to 3years, we are
putting a great deal of pressure on this young students. Thus instead boasting that they are
completing school at a relatively short period that translates into wickedness.
Another fact of Ghana’s educational system is the ‘normality’ of strikes at least once a year.
Therefore by the time a person completes three-year education, he/she would have experienced at
least three strikes of different durations. If a strike lasts for even three days, it translates into
hundreds of topics that are not taught in the strike period and for which teachers may push them to
vacation, or extra classes, both of which constitute additional burden on the same brain. It is
therefore shocking that a country with such an industrial climate should maintain shorter duration
for her students, when Mauritius and UK which do not experience the same, maintain longer
duration.
So what are secondary school students losing? They are losing the opportunity to develop
gradually; instead they are being rushed through a curriculum. The human brain like any other
organ has its capacity. The four years represents an opportunity to grow, commit mistake and learn
from experience. Its absence implies the loss of such opportunity, its presence in a very limited
form.
So what is impact of this system on university students? It is not been contended that the loss of
the four years has made academic excellence impossible. Students graduate with first, second
upper and second lowers. Very intelligent students abound in the universities. What then is my
point? No matter how unjust and cruel a system is, some people will make it. But even such
students would have performed wonders if they were not rushed and we want wonders. Now, it has
been observed that those who qualify to the universities under this wicked system come from few
endowed schools including Achimota, Adisadel, Mfantsipim, Yaa Asantewaa, Presec, Galaxy
International etc (sourc??). Does this support the argument of NAGRAT that what matters is
resourcing the schools? It is admitted here that nothing in this paper is intended to mean that the
only thing that matters is not duration, nor should it be construed in the other way round. Both
duration and resources matter. It is unlikely that NAGRAT can argue that reduction in the
duration to six months for students at a well-endowed school (such as Adisadel) will yield the
same or similar results if the duration increases to four years. If age has no bearing on intellectual
growth and development, then Piagget’s (year??) theory of Stages of Intellectual development
should be deleted from psychology books. Which doctor will you prefer? The one who spent more
years studying medicine or the one who spent fewer years? Can any person argue that if marriage
is taught in primary three and students do well in exam, then they have understood it? Certain
topics are better understood at certain ages. In the matter of marriage an indispensable element
cannot be explained to primary pupil, but the secondary school student will understand. Why do
universities admit mature students? Even though they write entrance examinations, the
qualification to write is age: the person should be at least 25 years.
The number of topics that secondary school students study is too much for them; we are rushing
and crushing them. Accordingly, not only should we increase secondary education to four or five
years, we must reintroduce ‘A’ as early as possible. Can the nation and parents afford? The
phasing out of the old system was a purely political decision not the inability of parents to afford.
When Ghana had not discovered oil and had not reaped HIPC benefits and was not a middleProceedings of INCEDI 2016 Conference
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income country the old system existed, why then should we say that it is impossible now,
economically speaking? When Ebola threatened some countries in West Africa, the government
earmarked GH 10 in preparation towards its prevention. Without Ebola where would that money
be? The government is building two hundred community schools because it believes that will
enhance its chances in the December elections. It can be done, provided there is political will.
Where will that come from? It will come from Ghanaians, provided they value the old system.
Will the government listen? What do trade unions in Ghana do when they want something from
government? Don’t they get results always?? The reduction in the duration of secondary education
from seven to three years-more than 50%- is a genocide, hence a genocidal curriculum. It is
academic rape; it is day-light robbery; it cruelty. Why are we rushing the students? Why? Why?
Where at all are we going? Are they going to space as other nations have gone? Why are we
rushing them??? Presidents want more years; MPs want more years; employees want to work for
more years and some even want post-retirement contract; footballers want more years but
secondary schools should not be given more years!!! Who can tell me this? What crime have these
young students committed? What is their crime? We have overloaded them, whilst reducing the
years to allow them to bear the load. Their silence is comparable to a step-child who is maltreated
by his mother in the absence of the father but who keeps quiet when the father arrives from work.
It requires a discerning father to know what the child is going through.
The students are susceptible like all others to the human condition of vicissitudes involving
sickness, bad news, variation in mood and enthusiasm for work due to changes in weather; family
problems; attraction to other media like TV and the possibility of addiction to many other habits
and substance all of which are part of this life. They are subject to temptations like all others. If a
mature academic as lecturer needs five years to pursue doctor of philosophy, what about the 17
year-old girl? How many courses or subjects is Ph.D? SHS subjects should be slashed to four like
the ‘A’ Level. Integrated Science is a murderer for a general arts and business students and
redundant for a science student.
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