By Ewoenam Kpodo
Ho, July 02, GNA- Africa Development Council (ADC), a non-profit organisation for sustainable industrial growth, has warned that creating new second cycle school categories risks confusing students, parents and policymakers rather than improving education quality.
In a statement signed by Dr Bright Atsu Sogbey, the President, ADC and Mr Michael Ackumey, Scribe, ADC Secretariat, the ADC argued that Ghana’s second cycle education could remain simple and effective under three broad divisions.
The divisions, the ADC said, are the Senior High Schools (SHSs) offering general academics; Senior High Technical Schools (SHTSs) blending academics with technical/engineering; and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools for hands-on vocational, industrial, and entrepreneurial training.
“Such a structure would be simple, coherent, and nationally understood. Every learner would know where they belong based on their interests, talents, and career aspirations,” the statement said.
The Council’s concerns stemmed from the introduction of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) schools, designed to integrate these four disciplines into a cohesive, hands-on learning model and questioned how fundamentally different STEM Schools are from existing SHTSs, noting that SHTSs already teach mathematics, physics, engineering drawing, electronics, woodwork, metalwork, and applied sciences – subjects that fall within the STEM philosophy.
“If the curriculum remains largely similar, the introduction of separate STEM schools risks creating duplication rather than innovation,” it cautioned.
Instead of creating new institutional identities, the ADC urged government to modernise and resource existing SHTSs with robotics centres, Artificial Intelligence (AI) laboratories, coding programmes and digital manufacturing technologies.
“Educational reforms should prioritise curriculum modernisation instead of institutional multiplication,” the Council said, adding that SHTSs can evolve into centres of excellence by incorporating AI, robotics, mechatronics and digital fabrication without abandoning their identity.
The statement also raised policy concerns over what it described as “label multiplication,” and asked, “If every emerging educational focus receives its own school designation, where does it end?”
According to the ADC, a simpler system would make educational pathways easier to understand, reduce administrative complexity, ensure efficient use of resources, and strengthen public confidence in reforms.
“Ultimately, what determines educational excellence is not the name displayed on a school’s signboard but the quality of teaching, the relevance of the curriculum, the competence of teachers, and the adequacy of facilities,” it stressed.
The Council argued that while STEM education is necessary for Ghana’s global competitiveness, strengthening SHTSs to deliver STEM may better serve the nation’s long-term educational and economic aspirations.
It ended with a light-hearted but pointed question: “Today it is STEM Schools… tomorrow, shall we have AI Schools?”
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Ewoenam Kpodo
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]