Stakeholders strategise to improve low performance in public, private SHS
A conference of heads of low-performing public and private senior high schools has been held in Kumasi to identify the causes of poor performance in those schools.
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It brought together over 500 participants made up of heads of such schools and managers of education from across the country to strategise and come up with measures to address the poor performance.
The conference, which took place last Tuesday, was organised by the Ghana Education Service (GES) with support from the Ministry of Education.
Addressing the participants, the Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, stated that the government had prioritised education to equip the youth with skills for work and for continuing education.
She said the Ministry of Education had since 2013 been investing a significant component of its budgetary allocation in the expansion of access and improvement of the quality of secondary education.
"The proportion of students who qualify for tertiary education increased from 10.58 per cent in 2007 and peaked at 31.19 per cent in 2012,” Prof. Opoku-Agyemang added.
Performance in Maths and Science
She, however, observed that although general performance had improved, performance in mathematics and science had been poor.
To address the poor performance in the identified areas, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said a number of actions were being taken, including the retraining of Maths and Science teachers of 125 schools, adding that to date, 1,000 teachers had been retrained.
She said 150 laboratory technicians had also been trained under the project.
GES Director-General
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Jacob Aaworb-Nang Maabobr Kor, urged heads of schools and teachers to be challenged by the confidence that society had reposed in them to perform their duties beyond reproach.
"Society expects that we play a lead role in bringing up children and the youth. Let's be challenged by this confidence reposed in us to always perform our duties well," he charged.
The Headmistress of the Islamic Senior High School at Suhum in the Eastern Region, Hajia Sharifatu Alibatu, on behalf of her colleagues, thanked the government and the GES for their continued support for education.
She urged her colleagues to be firm and fair so that "we can effect the needed discipline for enhanced delivery of educational services to students".
Assorted mathematics and science instructional aids and materials were distributed to the heads of schools who participated in the conference.