The Second Cycle Institution, often known as Senior High Schools (SHS), will be extended from three to six years, and the Education Ministry is putting plans in place to ask Parliament for permission.
The Pre-Tertiary Education Act, which specifies that Junior High School constitutes a component of Basic Education in Ghana, will be amended to do this.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, made the announcement at the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools, or CHASS, 60th Anniversary celebration. He said that the expansion will make sure that students are well-equipped and prepared for the Second Cycle Institutions across the nation.
Dr. Adutwum noted that Ghana does not have well-equipped science laboratories or libraries, thus the High School concept that has recently been used in the nation was imported from the West.
Therefore, it is crucial that practical measures be made to reform basic education in order to contribute to the development of a globally competitive educational system.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Seth Kwame Acheampong, stated that the government, in an effort to address the issues with second cycle institutions, awarded several GETFund projects for, among other things, the clearing of teacher recruitment as well as the expansion of dorms and classrooms in most schools.
Therefore, he is optimistic that other interested parties will work with the government to ensure that SDG #4, which calls for sustainable education in the nation, is accomplished.
The keynote speaker at the event, Professor David Kofi Essumang, Vice Chancellor of Koforidua Technical University, said that while basic education has been made free in the nation, not all areas have access to well-equipped educational institutions.
He claims that second cycle institutions give students a thorough education with the main goal of building on the fundamental skills and knowledge they have already learned.
