A lecturer at the Theatre Arts Department, Dr. Abdul Karim Hakib has criticized the Free Senior High School policy, claiming it has reduced educational quality.
He revealed that it focuses much on exam preparation instead of comprehensive learning further arguing that this leaves students unprepared for university.
His comments came amid a campaign by lecturers to raise awareness of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) 2024 manifesto, which proposes a review of the Free SHS policy.
Speaking to Univers News, Dr. Abdul Karim Hakib called for an overhaul of Ghana’s Free SHS policy.
He praised Mahama’s promise to review it, emphasizing the need to reassess implementation, curriculum, and address resource shortages.
“The education system needs to be totally overhauled, and luckily, John Dramani Mahama has promised that he will review it. He says that in the first hundred days, he is going to organize a stakeholders conference so we look at the ‘negritude’ of it, how it needs to be implemented, and what kind of curriculum needs to be adhered to. Textbooks are difficult to come by, and that needs to be changed.”
He continued that the free SHS policy’s poor implementation has prioritized exam passing over holistic learning, resulting in university students lacking basic skills that should have been developed at the secondary level.
“The main issue is with the implementation of the free SHS policy at the secondary school level. While the policy itself is sound, its execution has been poor. This has led to students prioritizing passing exams over actual learning. Hence, university students lack essential skills that should have been acquired in secondary school, forcing universities to focus on developing these basic abilities rather than building upon them.”
Story by: Promise Yaa Dakey | univers.ug.edu.gh
