The Ministry of Education (MoE) has asserted that the free Senior High School (SHS) policy that saw a record high in the number of students being admitted to SHS rather increased performances of students as opposed to what critics predicted would be otherwise.

This comment comes on the back of the recently released West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results of the first batch of free SHS graduates who evidently performed better than previous students under the erstwhile government.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Obeng-Fosu, has stated that the government has been vindicated for implementing the free SHS policy that gave unprecedented access to Senior High School for all in Ghana with the just-released WASSCE results.

“The first batch of free SHS students has done very well and the government will keep on doing what it is doing to make sure that everyone goes to school. I remember when the free SHS policy was about to take off and it was alleged that we were putting access before quality. But the government was resolute and demanded that all children go to SHS”.

He motioned that the free SHS policy gave students from less endowed schools the chance to higher and quality education and have matched up with their colleagues who were from privileged Junior High Schools. “Because of the free SHS, a student who had aggregate 41 in his BECE got the chance to enter PRESEC-Legon and emerged the best WASSCE student in Agricultural Science”.

On his authority, the results of the 2020 WASSCE has seen students excel above the fifty per cent (50%) margin between the years 2014 and 2020. “You can compare from the previous regime and ours by striking the average and you would see that the 2020 WASSCE candidates did better in English than the previous regime. The performances of the students also doubled when it comes to Core Mathematics”.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released provisional results of candidates who sat for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates in 2020 in Ghana.

The results are said to be one of the best in Ghana in recent times.

The provisional results indicate that there were improvements in the performance of candidates at Grades A1 to C6 in English Language and Mathematics (Core) in 2020 as compared to 2019.

• English Language – 48.96% in 2019 to 57.34% in 2020

• Mathematics (Core) – 65.31% in 2019 to 65.71% in 2020

On the other hand, Integrated Science and Social Studies recorded a decline in the performance of candidates at Grades A1 to C6 in 2020 as compared to 2019 as follows:

• Integrated Science – 63.17% in 2019 to 52.3% in 2020

• Social Studies – 75.43% in 2019 to 64.31% in 2020