Editorial
Initiative to phase out double-track system of Free SHS commendable
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The government’s decision to phase-out the double-track system for Free Senior High School (FSHS) is commendable and highly welcome.
Ghana implemented the double-track system in 2018 to address the extreme congestion in Senior High Schools (SHS) brought on by the Free SHS policy.
In order to make the most use of the facilities already in place, it divides the student body and staff into two alternating batches, Green and Gold. This allows one track to attend classes while the other is on vacation.
Despite greatly increasing access to education, the double-track system has brought up serious difficulties.
In actuality, it has decreased the number of teacher contact hours, which has had a detrimental effect on students’ academic achievement and syllabus completion. Teachers are compelled to teach year-round due to the lack of regular vacation time, which results in fatigue, lower job satisfaction, and less time for professional growth.
Additionally, parents have bitterly complained that their “off-track” children’s extended breaks sometimes lead to laziness since they are disconnected from their academic routines and easily forget what they have been taught.
To help their children stay on top of their schoolwork, some parents use private tutoring which they claim is expensive. Others claim the system is exceedingly complex and indeed it needs to be addressed.
Another unsettling problem is that constant, year-round use of school buildings provides little to no time for regular maintenance, repairs, and cleaning of classrooms and dorms, all of which can have an adverse effect on students’ health.
What is more disturbing is that despite the enormous spikes in student enrollment, there is delayed supply of funds and insufficient food supply which schools frequently have to deal with.
The Spectator is pleased that the government is actively modernising facilities nationwide in order to phase out the double-tract system.
We are happy that the government has successfully completed negotiations with the World Bank to secure $300 million funds to end the double-track system in 2029.
This was announced by the Minister of Education, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu when he addressed the Government Accountability Series at the Presidency in Accra last week.
We are hopeful that the STARR-J Project (Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance and Results for Jobs), an educational initiative by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the World Bank aimed at expanding equitable access, upgrading facilities, and completely phasing out the double-track system will be feasible.
The government’s promise that under the initiative 210 senior high, technical and vocational schools will benefit from infrastructure expansion and upgrades is laudable. This includes the rehabilitation and expansion of 150 schools through the construction of additional classrooms, dormitories and laboratories.
When completed, the Double-Track System will be eliminated. Parents will heave a sigh of relief and teachers will not be overstretched.
Dear Editor,
I want to use this platform to create awareness on the growing safety challenge at some of our beaches, particularly the lack of adequate safety measures to prevent accidents.
Beaches are important recreational spaces that also contribute significantly to Ghana’s tourism industry. However, many beaches lack trained lifeguards, emergency equipment and proper supervision.
During weekends, holidays and sometimes weekdays, families visit these beaches to have fun and some, for relaxing, yet the necessary safety measures are often inadequate.
The situation becomes even more worrying when children and inexperienced swimmers enter the water without proper guidance; it can quickly turn a day meant for enjoyment into a tragedy for families.
I urge beach operators and local authorities to strengthen safety measures at our beaches, make trained lifeguards available at busy beaches, warning signs clearly displayed and emergency responses system established.
Public education is equally important as well. Visitors must be encouraged to obey safety instructions, avoid dangerous places and remain vigilant especially when children are around.
Ghana has beautiful beaches with enormous potentials that attract both local and international tourists, but we cannot promote beach tourism effectively whiles neglecting the safety of the people who visit these places.
I hope the authorities will treat beach safety as a national priority before it cause any tragedy.
From Elvis Amoako
Teshie-Nungua.
Dear Editor,
In Ghana, it appears that the moment a prominent politician is arrested or convicted, we fail to ask of the person’s offence but rather think of the person’s political affiliation.
Taking the recent 20-year imprisonment handed to New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti regional chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi has once again exposed this troubling culture.
An Accra high court convicted him on illegal-mining related charges and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. The NPP has since announced its intention to appeal the conviction.
What concerns me is not whether one belongs to the NPP or the NDC, what concern me is our growing tendency to attach a political identity to every arrest, investigation or court judgment. If an NPP member is arrested, some immediately say the NDC government is targeting the opposition. If an NDC member faces legal trouble the same argument will easily be reversed when political circumstances change.
We must ask ourselves; Are we defending justice or are we simply depending on our political colours? Political affiliation should never determine whether we believe a person deserves investigation, prosecution or a fair trial. If someone is accused of wrongdoing the proper institution must investigate, the court must determine guilt and the accused must have the right to challenge the decision through legal process.
Ghana cannot build a strong democracy if every criminal investigation becomes a political battle. Let us learn to separate politics from justice, a wrongdoing does not become right because the accused belong to your party and an accusation does not become true simply because the person belong to the opposing party.
Our loyalty should first be Ghana, the rule of the law and justice not to political colors.
From Desmond Yaw Frimpong
Pentecost University
