Nana Addo interacting with some of the traditional leaders at Sefwi Ahwiaso
The paramount chief of Sefwi Anhwiaso in the Western Region, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II, has suggested to the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, to consider bringing back the four-year duration for senior high schools (SHSs) if he is elected in the December 7 general election.
According to the chief, the results released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for this year’s West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) painted a picture of an ailing senior high school system.
The paramount chief said that he was not enthused about the results, adding that students who obtained between A1 and C6 in English Language were just 53 percent and those who also passed in Integrated Science were a paltry 48.5 per cent.
Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II lamented, “38.9 percent of the students failed totally, obtaining F9.
“How can we move forward as a nation with these results? So I plead with you to revert to the four-year system, if you are elected president,” the chief charged Nana Addo.
Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi believed that going back to the four-year system would help prepare the students well for the examination and help improve the WASCCE results.
“In my view, the three-year duration is too short to guarantee success and churn out the quality of graduates needed,” he claimed.
He stressed that if the three-year duration would be maintained, then the schools should be given the requisite materials to ensure effective teaching and learning.
The paramount chief made the suggestion when the NPP leader and his retinue paid a courtesy call on him at Sefwi Anhwiaso in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Constituency of the region as part of his (Nana Addo’s) five-day visit to the region.
“The timetable for the SHS is approximately two years and some three months. If we need to take the four-year policy, let us do it; if it is the three years too, let us get the schools resourced for effective teaching and learning,” Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi added.
The paramount chief bemoaned the fact that the area’s roads were in deplorable state and appealed to Nana Addo to put them in good shape when given the nod.
He was equally worried about the high rate of unemployed youth in the area and was hopeful that Nana Addo’s ‘one district, one factory’ policy would be achievable and create jobs for them (youth).
Nana Addo assured the chief that the next NPP government was poised to improve the economy to benefit every Ghanaian.
He mentioned that the only way of enabling the NPP to implement its human-centred policies is for Ghanaians to vote out President John Mahama and his NDC government and bring back the NPP.
From Bibiani, Nana Addo and his entourage moved to Sefwi Boako where he addressed a mammoth rally.