Accra, May 27, GNA - A two-day national forum on the duration of Senior High School opened in Accra on Wednesday with the broad aim of fostering consensus for enhancing an effective implementation of programmes to ensure equity in education.

Being held on the theme: "Reaching National Consensus on the Duration of Senior High School Programme for Affordable Quality Education in Ghana," the main thrust of the forum is to examine the feasibility of making students spend either three or four years in Senior High School.

Over 500 participants drawn from academia, chiefs, students, parents, teachers, civil society organizations within the education sector, and registered political parties, among others, are attending the forum.

Some of the planned activities include presentations by eminent educationists to provide a historical perspective of the issue on hand, considering reviews of both the conclusion and recommendations of the 1999 National Education Forum and that of the President's Committee on Review of Education Reforms in Ghana (2002). There will also be presentations by distinguished panellists in the plenary on the case either for a 4-year or a 3-year SHS programme. Opening it, Vice-President John Mahama called for a dispassionate discussion by all stakeholders to ensure that the conclusions reached at the forum would help in the provision of quality education in the country.

He said there was also need to pay attention to the lower levels of education to develop appropriate skills and competencies, which were essential to building a strong nation. Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education, gave the assurance that whatever decision was reached at the forum would bring to an end the debate over the duration of the SHS Programme. He said the duration of the SHS Programme had generated debates in several circles over a long period and this needed to be looked at again to reach a consensus on the way forward.