By McDonald Amankwah
Former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has called for reforms to Ghana’s Senior High School (SHS) education system, including the introduction of a resit arrangement to allow students to retake subjects they fail.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse, Dr Adutwum said students should be given opportunities to receive academic support and repeat failed subjects rather than having their progress determined solely by the outcome of a single examination.
He also called for a proper transcript system at the SHS level to provide a clearer record of students’ academic performance.
Dr Adutwum said efforts were made during his time in government to introduce transcripts alongside West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, arguing that students who struggle in particular subjects should have opportunities to improve.
“We don’t give children any intervention to resit courses in school during the school term,” he said, adding that failing a subject such as Mathematics should not automatically mean the end of a student’s academic progress.
On teacher quality, the former minister said examiners had been engaged to train teachers in various schools as part of efforts to improve teaching and learning outcomes.
Dr Adutwum also addressed the future of the double-track system, saying its elimination would require a demand-driven approach to the development of new schools.
