Thursday, November 21, 2024

Abolishing double-track will deny 1.8 million students access to free SHS – Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa writes.

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Former President John Darimani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have stated in their 2024 manifesto that the next NDC government will review the Nana Addo/Bawumia free secondary education policy within 100 days in office.

Top on former President Mahama and the NDC’s list is to: ‘abolish the double-track system to restore a stable one-track academic calendar’.

Any attempt to abolish the double track calendar will deny an estimated one million, eight hundred thousand (1,800,000) students access to free senior high school and technical vocational education and training (FSHS/TVET). 

The double track schools now operate a transitional calendar, which allows schools to make maximum use of their available spaces.

A transitional calendar allows schools to operate without dividing any year group into two or double tracking any year group: No Green or Gold Tracks. 

However, to maximize the use of their infrastructure, two out of the three-year groups will be in school at any given time.

Under the previous trimester system, teacher-student contact hours in an academic year was 1,080 hours and 3,240 hours for the three years.

Under double track/transitional calendar and semester system, teacher-student contact hours in an academic year is 1,134 hours and 3,402 hours for the three years. 

This means, under the double track/transitional calendar, students do 162 hours more than the old system. 

This has reflected in their excellent performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), since 2020.

How double track/transitional calendar works

To better understand and appreciate the importance of double track/transitional calendar, let us take a school with 3,000 available spaces. 

Under the old single track/trimester system, the school can enroll a maximum of 3,000 students per academic year. That is, an average of 1,000 students each for Form 1, Form 2, and Form 3.

Under the double track/transitional calendar and semester system however, the school is able to enroll 4,500 students using the same 3,000 spaces; each of the three-year groups is able to enroll 1,500 students.

This is made possible because two out of the three-year groups will be in school at any given time. 

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