The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has revealed plans to replace the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) with entrance exams for students moving on to Senior High School (SHS) once the Free SHS bill is passed.
In an exclusive interview monitored by bricyboateng.com on GTV’s Breakfast Show on Thursday, August 8, 2024, Dr. Adutwum highlighted the importance of completing Senior High School in the 21st century, emphasizing that certificate exams should occur at this level rather than at the Junior High level.
He further explained that the Free Secondary Education bill aims to ensure that all children receive a government-funded, high-quality secondary education. Under this new structure, Junior High School will be categorized as lower secondary education, removing it from the basic school system and establishing a six-year secondary education model in Ghana.
Dr. Adutwum also mentioned that while lower secondary schools could operate independently, they would provide the same learning opportunities as senior high schools.
He argued that with secondary education becoming mandatory, the BECE is no longer necessary as a certificate exam.
Addressing suggestions from Africa Education Watch to incorporate a compulsory subject on basic practical agriculture in the SHS curriculum, Dr. Adutwum proposed that this could be included in the lower secondary curriculum, giving students an early exposure to agriculture and the option to pursue it further in upper secondary school.
