Parents Want SHS Back To Four Years Duration

Some concerned parents in the New Juaben Municipality have appealed to the Government to revert the duration of the Senior High School (SHS) duration to four years. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Koforidua on Thursday, Mr Samuel Owusu Agyei, a businessman, said considering the results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) over the years, there was clear indication the three -year duration was not the best. He said results of this year�s WASSCE where the students studied for four years and performed creditably should serve as a test case for the government and the educational authorities to revert the period back to four years. Mrs Eugene Asare, a trader at the Koforidua Central Market, said she agreed with those who were calling for the four-year duration. She said her daughter completed SHS in 2007 and failed to make the grade, adding that since then she had spent so much on remedial classes and still battling to pass the English Language and Mathematics papers. Mrs Asare said her brother�s daughter who attended the SHS for four years completed this year and passed in all the subjects with aggregate 10, and that she was therefore convinced that the four-year duration was better than the three years. A mobile phone dealer, Mr Kwasi Mante, said the number of candidates writing the November-December edition of the WASSCE year after year was worrying and appealed to the government to do something about the issue. An official of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in Koforidua who spoke to GNA on conditions of anonymity said considering the increasing number of private candidates for WASSCE it was clear that the three-year duration was inadequate. He said the earlier something was done about the situation the better it would be to save the educational system of the country. The WAEC official said looking at the impressive performance of this year�s WASSCE results, it was clear that the number of candidates who would register for the private examination from that group would be less next year as compared to previous years. Since WAEC released the results of this year's WASSCE, there have been series of calls from some concerned parents, civil society organizations and religious organizations asking that the four year duration should be maintained. The Catholic Bishops Conference recently called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, maintain the four-year duration in order for the students to prepare well before the examination.