Former Deputy Education Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has described government’s double track system as an afterthought due to poor planning in rolling out the free senior high school policy.
Speaking in a debate with deputy education minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum on TV3, Mr Ablakwa noted that the government resorted to a lazy approach because they could have completed some of the community day schools.
“Now you have a situation where you abandoned the schools, sat aloof, then September comes, you are exposed, there is congestion, parents are angry, students are complaining then you come up with double-track. Double track is an afterthought because of poor planning.”
“The double-track is a lazy man’s approach. You have inherited Community Day schools, 125 which are being constructed. What do you do? Between January and September, learning from Professor Mills’ example you could have completed those schools. That was why we were doing progressively free SHS, building the schools and then taking care of the poorest of the poor because you are keeping an eye on quality,” Ablakwa stated.
Countering Ablakwa’s assertion, Dr Adutwum noted “what we need to do in order to transform this nation is to make sure education takes its rightful role in the socio-economic transformation process. But for education to take its rightful role and become fit for the purpose you have to look at what Brookings Institutions suggested.”
“They suggested that if you don’t want your nation to wait for 126 years then you have to leapfrog inequality, which means you for best practices that will allow you to do more with less.”
Source: GhanaFeed.com
