Dr Adutwum says the government’s strategy is enhancing quality of learning and it is allowing the country to educate 400, 000 more students.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, deputy minister of education, says the quality of education has not declined under the government’s agship free senior high
school (SHS) programme as being speculated.

Dr Adutwum was speaking in an interview with Benjamin Offei Addo on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Friday (30 October) following the pronouncement
by the NDC agbearer that he will scrap the double-track system within a year
if given the mandate.

John Mahama said the next NDC administration will build dormitories for the schools situated in rural areas to accommodate students, who are posted
outside of the school’s jurisdiction.

“We believe that when we tackle this seriously within the rst year, we would
be able to create enough capacity to be able to move the children into these
schools,” he told Woezor TV.

“And so, if we even build a hundred or more schools, it means that a thousand
or more children can nd access and that will ease the pressure on the existing
secondary schools.”

However, Dr Adutwum said the opposition NDC lacks the strategy and what it takes to make the policy more effective.

“We created a system that enables us to increase enrolment and reduce class
sizes, that is not something I don’t hear the NDC talk about. In some schools,
before we came to power, when you go to a school like Accra Girls Senior
High School, there were about 70 students in a class and after double-track, i. became 50 students,” he said.

Quality not compromised He said the double-track initiative delivered more instructional time and also allowed teachers ample time to nish their syllabus ahead of time.

“So, the double-track delivered something difcult to achieve without
constructing more schools,” he said.

“All across the board, this is the strategy that is enhancing the quality of
learning and at the same time allowing the country to educate 400, 000 more
students.”

The deputy education minister said enrollment was increased to about 70%
during the rst year of the introduction of the double-track system.