Acting Executive Director for the Complementary Education Agency, Honourable Kwasi Ashiamah, has publicly supported the call to upgrade all existing public senior high schools to the same standard, eliminating all forms of categorisation.
The former lawmaker opined that a major factor driving some parents and their wards to reject certain senior high schools is the pervasive perception that academic success is only attainable in Category A schools.
To effectively address the challenge of oversubscription to top-tier secondary schools, Mr. Ashiamah has endorsed suggestions for the government to invest substantially in massive infrastructural projects. These projects would serve to elevate all public senior high schools to a uniform standard, irrespective of their current location.
His remarks follow an earlier push by Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga, who underscored the imperative need for the country to cease categorising schools, particularly since the state allocates the same financial resources for teacher salaries across all institutions nationwide.
According to the Member of Parliament (MP), the recent student placement exercise into high schools exposed a systemic imbalance that fundamentally undermines the goal of providing equal educational opportunity.
“There must be no Grade A or Grade B schools,” the MP firmly stated. “We spend equally on all teachers in all schools, and this House must do whatever it takes to fix all schools and demand equal performance.”
Supporting this position, Mr. Ashiamah, speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, asserted that the categorization of secondary schools is discriminatory and places undue pressure on some institutions while simultaneously depriving others of necessary infrastructure and learning materials.
He highlighted that some parents will exert extraordinary efforts to secure placement for their wards in certain schools, unfortunately creating an environment ripe for individuals to engage in extortion and exploitation.
Mr. Kwaku Ashiamah further posited that the current administration remains committed to addressing the challenges inherent in the school placement system.
He informed host Kwabena Agyapong that these issues represent significant national challenges, noting: “Minister of Education Haruna Iddrisu has proactively instituted measures to prevent extortion within the school placement system. We have made progress, but challenges persist, and he has demonstrated strong leadership in addressing them.”
“We must find a lasting solution to these challenges, starting with the issue of categorization. We need to ensure that the required financial support is provided to upgrade all our secondary schools to a uniform level, without having to categorize them under A, B, C, or D.”
He concluded by stressing: “We must critically examine how we apportion our resources. We need to allocate funds in a manner that will facilitate the upgrading of our schools to provide equal opportunities for all admitted students.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
