
Arguments on four-year SHS is baseless- Karbonu
The longstanding argument over whether a three-year
or four-year duration for the senior high level is the
best for the country has been reignited with the
release of the 2016 WASSCE results.
Vice president of the National Association of
Graduate Teachers, Angel Karbonu has labelled
arguments over a four-year or three-year senior
high school education system as baseless.
The longstanding argument over whether a three-year
or four-year duration for the senior high level is the
best for the country has been reignited with the
release of the 2016 WASSCE results.
However, Mr. Karbonu, in addressing the issue on Citi
Fm’s Big Issues said,
“We are beginning the issue on this parochial
argument of four years, three years. It is totally a
misplaced argument,” laying emphasis on the need to
concentrate on the basic levels of the educational
system instead.
“If somebody does not get the proper knowledge in
English language from the basic level, you can even
move to the PHD level, when you talk, there will be
deficiencies in your presentation,” he explained. Mr.
Karbonu also bemoaned the fact the discussion had also
been spliced with political rhetoric. According to him,
“The statistics that we have is totally different from the
tangent that we have discussed this issue and once
again, we have also jaundiced this discussion with
parochial political interests.”
Mr. Karbonu added that examination results being poor
is not new in the Ghanaian context.
“we have always performed abysmally at our school set
level,” he maintained. “So for results to be released in a
particular year and for people to begin talking about it as
if Armageddon is all of a sudden befalling us has
jaundiced the discussion.”
He added that “the performance in core subjects such
as science, English language and mathematics have
always been abysmal.”
According to the statistics from the West African
Examination Council, a total of 274,262 candidates
participated in the 2016 with 125,065 students
obtaining A1 to C6 in English Language(53.19%),
59,725 (25.40%) obtained D7-E8 whilst 46,595
(19.82%) had F9.
For Mathematics, 77,108 (32.83%) obtained A1-C6;
65,007 (27.68%) obtained D7-E8 whilst 89,477
(38.10%) had F9 and about 113,933 students obtained
A1-C6 in Integrated Science which is 48.48%, 75,938
(32.32%) obtained D7-E8 whilst 42,519 (18.09%) had
F9.