By January 2024, some selected Junior High Schools would be transformed into model schools.
Among these is the Asem Boys School in Kumasi, known to have moulded the basic education of former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor and former Secretary General of the United Nations (UN),the late Kofi Annan.
The School is to undergo a major transformation to become a Model Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Junior High school.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) has redesigned the school to comprise a modern two- storey block to accommodate all the cluster of schools to be manned one headteacher and two assistants.
The premises, which will be fenced and gated will comprise classrooms, administration block, library and a mechanical borehole.
Other schools in Ashanti region to be upgraded to benefit from the new Model JHS are Bantams, Jurgen and Abenase JHS.
It is part of MOE’s Transformation Agenda to replace the present weak JHS system with a Model JHS system to ensure major reforms in the education sector.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, who announced the transformation agenda while meeting with journalists in Kumasi, on Sunday, said the intervention is part of irreversible transformational agenda, designed to make the MOE proactive and help bridge the gap in the education system.
Dr.Adutwum explained the intent of the Model JHS programme is to help reduce the existing 13,000 JHSs in the country to a minimum of 3,500 because there are schools that should not exist.
The sector Minister also announced that a number of schools will be retooled with science laboratories to upgrade faculties and help open the floodgates of science education in the schools, hoping that courses of study, particularly in aviation, would be encouraged.
He mentioned some of the schools to be equipped with science laboratories as Kumasi Anglican SHS, St. Louis SHS, Kenyasi High SHS and Wesley Girls, all in Kumasi.
Other STEM schools, he said, are in the Greater Accra and the Central regions.
The Education Minister also announced that Guidance and Counselling Centres would be established in schools to give full meaning to the Free SHS policy to ensure that all areas of learning are fully utilised.
Meanwhile, Yaw Osei Adutwum has,in another development, challenged Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) and Principals of Technical and Vocational Education and Training TVET Institutions to improve their educational outcomes or stand the risk of having their institutions closed down.
He explained that a school with a consistent zero to ten per cent pass rate should put together intervention programmes to ensure that majority of their students will find opportunity for further studies, rather than becoming a liability to their parents and society due to their inability to pass their exam.
He explained that closing the schools down would help save the nation the huge financial lose being incurred by the government, as a result of the existence of the school, so that the affected students would be redistributed to other nearby schools, so they could continue their education.
Dr Adutwum announced this over the weekend when he addressed the members of the Conference of Assisted Senior High Schools (CHASS) and Principals of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Kumasi on Saturday and Sunday.
The meeting, which is an annual event was to share with them current state of education in the country, discuss new development in the sector and answer questions on issues affecting them.
The meeting, which were in two batches, saw all SHS heads attended on Saturday while Principals of TVET institutions across the country also attended on Sunday.
He lauded the heads for their role in the transformation of education in the country and pledged to continue providing the needed resources and urged them to work very hard to ensure that they attained the right results.
Don’t be a barrier
Dr Adutwum also cautioned the heads to desist from preventing first year students from enrolling due to the fact that some items on their prospectus had not been procured.
He indicated that, “there is no way any student should be turn away from school because the parents have not been able to procure some items on the school’s prospectus, at least, let them come to the school and the rest could be procured with some time”.
The Education Minister lamented the addition of many other unapproved items on the school’s prospectus which in the long run lead to the bloating of the prospectus for first year students.
Dr Adutwum, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe, advised the heads not to do anything that would discourage or prevent any student from having access to education.
He urged the heads to let it be their goal of doing everything possible to create enabling environment for students to study and not to disturb them from their studies.
The Deputy Minister for Education, in-charge of TVET sector, Ms GiftyTwum-Ampofo, reminded the Principals to ensure that students were well equipped for the job market and also let the schools pass through them and not the students passing through the school.
She also urged the Principals to spend time, enhancing their capacity through reading relevant courses and books to support their effort at getting the best training for their students.
Presentations were made by the leadership of the Ghana Education Service (GES), National Education Leadership Institute (NELI), Free Senior High School Secretariat, Funds and Procurement Management Unit (FPMU), Ghana TVET Service.
