The Minister for Education has announced plans to upgrade the Senior High School certificate into a National Diploma certificate which can allow graduates gain employment after completion of their programmes.
The Minister said it is unfair for young people in the country to be forced to complete University before being eligible for employment in the country.
Speaking at the 2019 Danquah Institute Leadership lecture under the theme: “World Class Education and Imperative for the Next Generation of Leaders,” Matthew Opoku Prempeh said a new curriculum for Junior High Schools in the country will see JHS graduates completing with National Higher Diplomas while qualified SHS graduates will be awarded with National Diplomas.
He noted that such an upgrade for their qualification will make the graduates more relevant and not having to necessarily obtain University education to be qualified for employment in the country.
“The curriculum that will appear for the Junior High School will lead to a National Higher Diploma, [and] when you finish Senior High School, you get a National Diploma. It is not everybody who must go to the University straight, but we must prepare our kids for the world of work.”
“And that National Diploma will ensure that our kids can go straight to work. If someone can go with the Middle School leaving certificate into the army, why can’t someone go now with Senior High School diploma into work? That should be good enough that anybody who has passed and has a certificate should be able to be employed provided we have prepared that person,” he said.
Mathew Opoku Prempeh further advocated for adequate training for Ghanaian students to make them technologically savvy.
He said such a trait will make Ghanaian graduates compete favorably with their counterparts from other parts of the world.
University education reduced to 3 years
The Minister at the same event also hinted of government plans to ensure the reduction in the duration for pursuing undergraduate degree programs from four years to three years.
“Everywhere in the world, undergrad is three years not four years, why should we spend four years doing undergrad? We will sit down with the university lecturers and start challenging them because Ghana is not an island,” the minister said.
Source: graphic.com.gh
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Mr. minister, I want to give you simple assignment. if you do it well, it will give you fair idea as to what you should do to make your work simple. try to get a comprehensive questionnaire that solicits ideas from teachers (grassroots people) concerning what they think should be done to improve our educational system. if possible try to get about 80% teachers to respond. don't tell me the sample size is too high. I think this will make your decisions to look popular among the real teachers who are on the ground. it appears your policies and statements are sharply in contradiction to the realities on the grounds.
This is a good idea
First of all the pressure on this fine gentleman is becoming unbearable hence trying all means to ease himself. my humble question is why upgrading the certs this time ?? is it about the quality of students we are going to produce for mother Ghana that is important or upgrading their (students) certs that is important. please kindly think this through and come back again sir. Good morning
"Everywhere in the world..." Well, Dr. Minister of Education, I have some college education in the US, and all undergraduate programs run for four years. It can't be everywhere in the world as you want Ghanaians to believe. What is the rationale for this? Is the government purse overburdened by the free SHS and the double track system? I think your government should be sober enough to admit that you were over ambitious with this program. I support the idea that every child in Ghana must at least be educated up to the SHS level. But it seems the implementation of the free SHS policy was not very well thought through. You may reconsider that decision to save the education system.
this guy has lost it now