The District Chief Executive for Atiwa West District Assembly in the Eastern Region, Paddy Amponsah Douglas says the free Senior High School flagship has made Junior High School attractive to Ghanaian children.
According to him, the implementation of the FSHS policy has increased the number of candidates who sit for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) since 2017 to date.
This is because once they obtain good grades the probability of being enrolled in the SHS is assured, unlike the erstwhile NDC government where parents have to sell their properties to finance their ward’s education.
Amponsah Douglas mentioned that one amazing thing about the FSHS education is the addition of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program beyond students only offering reading courses.
“So before they graduate from the SHS or SHTS they will be having their handiwork and with that, they don’t become a burden to society after their graduation; hence every Parent in Ghana is taking their children to school to become the breadwinner of the family in future,” he stressed.
The Atiwa West DCE was speaking to Kingdom FM’s KONTIHEN KOFI OBOH when he toured all 4 BECE centers in the district to motivate them to come out with flying colours.
“Government has invested heavily in TEVET and STEM so I will entreat all parents to allow their wards who have an interest in that course to pursue it,” he opined.
Paddy Amponsah Douglas said that there is a STEM School in his District and they have four Nigerian students who are there studying because the world is going digital that is why parents need to allow their children who have an interest in those programs to read it in school because it comes with a huge sums of money.
Speaking to Kingdom News, some of the BECE candidates described the ongoing exercise smoothly and strongly believe that they will surely smile after the outcome.
According to them, their quest of being beneficial to the FSHS education is unchanged to become great persons in the future.
In total, 1,397 candidates registered for the 2024 BECE in the area, 29 of them were absent leaving 1,368 candidates on the battlefield participating in this year’s exams in the Atiwa West District Assembly.
At least, 53,624 sat for the exams in the region comprising 26,829 boys and 26, 435 girls.
John Kwasi Osafo, the Director of Education for the District noted that he assumed office in 2021, and the performance of the students in the area for the past 3 years is very encouraging.
“In 2021 they had 67.7%, as against 75% and 78 pass mark respectively in 2022 and 2023 but have targeted to get 80% pass mark in 2024,” he stated.
By// Kontihen Kofi Oboh.
Source// Obohnewsonline.com.
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