Ghana has one of the best-developed educational systems in the whole
of Africa. There are three main levels. The elementary pre-primary,
primary and middle, secondary technical and teacher training and the
University level.
Education for most children begins at the
age of five or six, only a small number, mostly in the larger urban
centers, begin at the age of three or four in pre-primary or nursery
schools. Education at the primary level lasts for six years. Primary
school education is free and will be mandatory when teachers and
facilities are available to accommodate all the students.
Entry into the secondary level is by a nationwide competitive
examination organized by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
Candidates will have to sit the Basic Education Certificate Examination
in Mathematics, English Integrated Science, Social Studies, Technical
and Vocational subjects before gaining admission into Junior Secondary
School for three years. After this level one may decide to enter a
technical or vocational institute or alternatively sit for the Senior
Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) also organized by WAEC.
Subjects taken at this level are Mathematics, Integrated Science,
English, Social Studies, Technical and Vocational Subjects. Upon
passing one may choose to go to the University, Polytechnic or teacher
training college.
Ghana has 12,130 primary schools, 5,450
junior secondary schools, 503 senior secondary schools, 21 training
colleges, 18 technical institutions, two diploma-awarding institutions
and five universities serving a population of 17 million; this means
that most Ghanaians have relatively easy access to good education. In
contrast, at the time of independence in 1957, Ghana had only one
university and a handful of secondary and primary schools. In the past
decade, Ghana's spending on education has been between 28 percent and
40 percent of its annual budget.
Basic Education
Primary-and middle-school
education is tuition-free and will be mandatory when enough teachers
and facilities are available to accommodate all the students. Students
begin their 6-year primary education at age six. Under educational
reforms implemented in 1987, they pass into a new junior secondary
school system for 3 years of academic training combined with technical
and vocational training.
Senior Secondary education
After
basic school, pupils may enter Senior secondary (or
technical/vocational) schools for a three-year course, which prepare
them for university education. Students usually study a combination of
three (in some cases, four) 'elective' subjects and a number of core
subjects. For example, a science student could study Additional
Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and Physics as his 'elective' subjects.
An arts students might study Georgraphy, Economics and Literature as
his elective subjects. In addition to the elective subjects, there are
'core' subjects, which are those studied by all students in addition to
their 'electives'. The 'core' subjects include Mathematics, English and
Science.
At the end of the three year senior secondary
course, students are required to sit for the West African Senior
Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE). Students who obtain
aggregate 18 or better (six is best) can enter the university. Usually,
the score is determined by aggregating the student's grades in his
elective subjects. The aggregate score is then added to the aggregate
score of his best 'core' subjects, with scores in English and
Mathematics considered first.
So if an arts students scores
'A' in Geography, 'B' in Literature and 'C' in Economics, he'd obtain
an aggregate score of 6 for his electives (i.e. A=1; B=2 and
C=3...F(fail)=6). His best electives are then added. If he obtain 'B'
in English, 'C' in Mathematics and 'A' in Social Studies, his best
'core' aggregate will be six. Therefore, his overall aggregate score
will be 12 and he qualifies for admission into a university. Once
again, an overall aggregate score of six is best.
Tertiary educationEntrance
to universities is by examination following completion of senior
secondary school. School enrollment totals almost 2 million: 1.3
million primary; 107,600 secondary; 489,000 middle; 21,280 technical;
11,300 teacher training; and 5,600 university.