President of Ashesi University Dr Patrick Awuah has lauded introduction of the double-track system in Senior High Schools (SHSs) as a very clever idea.
According to him, the double-track free SHS is a laudable policy from the Akufo-Addo led government which needs to be embraced by every Ghanaian.
The system, he maintained, is the best way to make adequate use of school infrastructure in the country.
Dr Patrick Awuah is the founder and President of Ashesi University, a private, not-for-profit institution that has quickly gained a reputation for innovation and quality education in Ghana.
In 2012, Ashesi University was ranked as one of the top ten Most Respected Companies in Ghana and was the first educational institution to win the award.
In the same survey, Patrick Awuah was named the 4th Most Respected CEO in Ghana.
Speaking at a forum, Dr Awuah said the potential of not only helping Ghana really solve the problem of access but if it is done right, it could become a model for the rest of the African continent.
“People don’t understand why this had to happen and they don’t understand that there’s work happening in terms of contact hours so that kids will get the education that they need.
“I think it is a very clever idea to have the double-track system,” he added.
He noted that prior to the implementation of the double track, secondary school students spent seven months in school in the academic year.
According to him, for five months every year therefore school infrastructure sat idle.
The double track, he explained, has now squeezed the seven months of work into six months, which has rather increased the contact hours per day for SHS students even though they are in school for only six months out of the year instead of seven.
“They actually have more contact hours today than they did before”, he reiterated.
Dr Awuah lamented that the double-track system has not been communicated well enough to Ghanaians.
He said, besides increasing the contact hours the system also makes judicious of educational assets in view of the fact that the government does not have enough money to address all challenges in the sector.
Dr Awuah averred that despite this dilemma, the government is compelled to provide education for all kids in an environment where the population continues to grow.
He cautioned that unless the rate at which the population is growing is changed, Ghana’s numbers would double in the next 30 years.
“How else are we going to catch up? 20 years to build enough schools for the current population let alone what is coming,” he quizzed.
Dr Awuah stressed that the double-track is therefore a solution to the problem of access and congratulated the government for initiating the system.
