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Minister of Education, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang

Govt tasks CHASS to analyse SHS results nation-wide

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has been tasked by the government to conduct a three-year analysis of the results of senior high schools (SHS) throughout the country.

The study will enable the Ministry of Education to take a decision on whether or not the current three-year duration should be reverted to four years or maintained.The Member of Parliament (MP) for Trobu in the Greater Accra Region, Mr Moses Anim, made this known when the Committee on Government Assurance in Parliament visited the Students’ Parliament of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) at Cape Coast last Thursday.

The committee, the first of its kind, which is mandated to inspect projects promised by the government and report  their findings to Parliament, was in the Central Region to inspect work on the Cape Coast Stadium and Kotokuraba Market.

The Students’ Parliament is a mock arrangement designed to train students on how to articulate national issues. It has a Speaker as well as the Majority and Minority sides.

Contact hours

Mr Anim contended that due diligence was not done before the four years was reverted to its present three years, saying the actual contact hours of students in SHS, as a result, was two years one month, but not three years.

“It is all about contact hours. When we take examination weeks, delays for BECE results, holidays and other extra-curricular calender out, the real contact hours is two years, one month,” he said.

He added that  the present policy had put what he described as slow learners at a disadvantage.

Mr Anim advocated that the universities should rather do three years and not the SHS.

The Chairman of the committee, Mr Emmanuel Kofi Bedzra, said the 25-member committee was established in accordance with order 174/2 to follow the promises made by government officials and submit its report to Parliament for action.

Rules and procedure

According to Mr Bedzra, the committee mounted platforms where people were allowed to make their submissions and report on issues bothering them.

He also said the committee had visited six regions, while four ministers had appeared before it to answer questions.

A ranking member, Mr Joe Baidoo-Ansah, said it was in the interest of the public to expose non-performing ministers.

Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UCC House asked a variety of questions such as the payment of utility bills by students, the current dumsor, which they said was affecting academic work and the university teachers threat to embark on strike.

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