In the 70s a group in the United States organized an essay competition for Secondary schools in Africa, code-named “Inter-African Annual Essay Competition”. Ghanaian students were always among the top three to be selected. The top three winners were sent to the USA to live with host families for three months. I remember vividly that Stephen Balado Manu, the former MP of Ahafo Ano South, who was then my classmate won the essay competition. I mention this just to illustrate how the old system of education fortified us in the English language, Science and Mathematics.

The old system had ten years of both primary and middle levels of education. Those who went to Secondary schools had to pass the common entrance examination to be admitted. After five years in Secondary school, one wrote the General Certificate Examination Ordinary level. Those who did well at that level went on to a two-year Advanced level course (6th Form) that prepared them for the university. Unless you passed the common entrance examination before completing ten years of Elementary school, you had seventeen solid years of pre-university education!!! That was a long journey but it was worth it since excellent and matured students were produced.

It was, however, a system inherited from the colonial days from a colonial master whose own educational system had changed. There was a need for us to change too. This change was made at the beginning of 1993/94 academic year by the former president, J. J. Rawlings. The new system comprised six years of primary, three years of Junior high and three years of Senior high schools. Training colleges were upgraded to diploma awarding institutions to suit the new change. Preliminary statistics from the government, which became available prior to the introduction of the new system of education, showed that there would be more than 9,300 primary schools, 609,000 students were expected to enrol in about 5400 Junior high schools, and 200,000 students would be enrolled in some 250 Senior high schools.

Ever since the new system was introduced, the quality of education, teaching and learning has fallen so low that many high school students can hardly write or speak good English. Personally, I feel the problem emanates from the original mistake of detaching the first three years of Secondary school and joining it to the primary school. What happens is that graduates and specialists who teach the Senior high school students do not come down to teach in the Junior high schools. This phenomenon is a contributory factor to the low performance of students at the Junior high school.

These days getting admission to the university is no longer competitive because the ability to pay the fees seems to matter more than the actual grades of the student. This is very common in the private universities that have mushroomed and spread throughout Ghana. Due to pecuniary motives, they admit students with even two passes with the hope that the students would re-sit and pass those subjects they failed and present a good result before they complete their courses at the universities. Those who are not able to make it up are sacked in their final year, dashing all their hopes and the thought of having wasted so much money in fees and other expenses. A few years ago, Central University had to sack about 350 students during their final year for failing to pass the subjects they failed in High schools.

An unfortunate situation and a mass dismissal like this could never have happened in the old system of education where students gained admissions to Universities purely on merit. During those times, all those who had good grades in the Advanced level examination qualified to the Universities. All the names of successful candidates were published in the daily newspapers. The department or faculty accepting a particular student was written against his or her name. Those years, it was common for students coming from village schools to gain admission to Law school, Medical school or school of Administration based solely on their performance at the A Levels. Today your ability to pay determines which department will accept you. University admissions are no longer published in the local newspapers and therefore one examination result can be used by about three students to attend different universities in Ghana. This was never possible in the old system.

The standard of education keeps on falling to an alarming level. Gone are the days when Ghanaian students and the old system of education were very effective and comparable globally. Due to the quality of learning at that time and the comparative nature of Ghana’s old system of education to that of Europe and America, students could pass the entrance examinations that could lead them to schools in Europe. Many students could pass the SAT, GRE and GMAT to attend Ivy League Universities in the USA. The craze to go to American and other foreign universities which became known as “Komso” is not so much practiced because the low quality of learning today that can barely match up to the standards abroad.

For a country to develop or succeed, more mathematics and science teachers are needed. The world is moving at a very fast and dizzying pace and therefore there is the need to either switch to the old system which is result-oriented, or reduce the number of subjects in the JHS and SHS and concentrate more on science, mathematics and development-oriented subjects. If this is not done, Ghana will continue to trail behind in technological development. OECD selected seventy six countries, including Ghana, and the idea was to check which countries have continued to develop in the areas of science and mathematics more especially in their various basic schools. Among the seventy six countries Ghana was last and the worst in science and mathematics! Can you believe this? It is now clear that things are no longer the same. To add salt and pepper to the sore of Ghana’s education system, a girl who was adjudged the best student in science and mathematics, was nominated to take part in the International Science and Maths Olympiad that was held in South Africa. At the end of it all, the Ghanaian girl scored zero, throughout. How shameful! Do we continue this bogus educational system that produces half-baked students who can neither write nor speak good English? Can Ghana continue like this? How long can we produce “Facebook” students who complete Universities and do not get jobs?

Both teachers and students are under pressure. Many teachers have still not received their salaries for more than one year. The Ghana Education Service explains this as error in the system combined with their efforts to remove ghost names. Most teachers are compelled to teach without any passion for the job, thereby giving very little of their efforts to teach the children. The students, on the other hand, are also under pressure due to financial difficulties. Many students cannot afford three meals a day. They are unable to pay the hostel rent and are compelled to squat in their friend’s rooms. Such congestion does not promote effective learning. Government actions also account for the pressure on both teachers and students.

When Kufuor came to power in 2001, he saw that students completing Senior High school in three years was not enough to provide full knowledge and a very firm foundation for students preparing to enter Universities and other high schools of learning. He changed the time period for the completion of high school to four years on the advice of the commission set for that purpose. As students and teachers began to get used to it, the NDC came to power and reversed the high school years to three years again! Why toy with the fate of Ghanaian children? In case NPP comes to power, will they revert it to four years? Lord, have mercy!

Dear reader, I am of the firm belief that you will agree with me that radical changes and improvement must be put in place to bring Ghana’s education closer to world standards. For those who passed through the old system will you agree with me that the old system of education must come back?

Written by Stephen Atta Owusu Author: Dark Faces at Crossroads Email: stephen.owusu@email.com