According to the Ministry of Education of Ghana, an estimated 60% of qualified Junior Secondary School students in Ghana are unable to access secondary school education.
The dean of faculty of Agriculture of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in the country’s second city Kumasi, Professor R. T. Awuah, has therefore urged the private sector to invest in secondary education to address the problem, which has now increased the drop out rate.
A number of factors including high annual turnout with limited opportunities and facilities for academic progress have been blamed for the situation.
The Senior Secondary School education was introduced to bridge the gap that existed between the basic and tertiary levels of education. In spite of numerous interventions to improve the quality of education, and reduce illiteracy, every year as high as 60% of JSS students are unable to enter the senior secondary schools. This is because provision of educational needs from the basic to tertiary institutions, have become too cumbersome for the government alone to shoulder.
The situation has resulted in problems such increased school drop outs. This has in turn led to streetism, indiscipline, teenage pregnancies and armed robbery.
He challenged the private to assist in the provision of quality education with special attention to brilliant but poor students” to enable them to have access to higher education.
Professor Awuah, stressed the importance of education in socio-economic development and called for closer collaboration among stakeholders to improve standard in the country.
Ghanaweb News Website 