In recent times, fellow youngsters I have seen for long have resurfaced from their ‘sojourned lands’. Almost all of them now have new looks, with the ladies fixing different shades of hair style. Their arrival was heralded with jubilation and powdering. That certainly reminded me of those days, when some of us were very young. Their presence indicated the end of this year’s WASSCE and BECE for SHS and JHS students respectively. After all was said and done, reflections started setting in: Which worthwhile activity could one engage in, to avoid idleness within the next three or so months as students await their results? Usually, it doesn’t take long after such examinations to see a number of the ladies pregnant; and some of the guys indulging in certain acts that are undeserving of them. Often than not, that becomes the end of the road for those youngsters. Unfortunately, some secondary and Junior High schools in Ghana do not have measures in place to properly prepare the minds of students for the life they will be embracing right after school. In most schools I have visited, Guidance and Counselling units are either dormant or non-existent. Some students therefore complete schools without any clear vision of what exactly to do whilst awaiting results, or the right course to pursue at either the secondary or tertiary levels. Even in some of the Schools with Guidance and Counselling Unit, be sure of hearing the concerns shared with the counsellors on the lips of friends and probably getting ridiculed in addition. This privacy and confidentiality lacuna makes students shy away from those units. Thanks to our theory-based curricula too, students who read courses like General Arts, Science and Business often complete without any requisite skills. This would certainly make it difficult for most of our latest graduates to secure better part-time jobs in the months ahead. Whatever the case may be, sitting idle at home for me is not ideal and should be a thing of the past. The current crop of JHS/SHS leavers ought to find means of making judicious use of the months ahead. Some of them could enrol in short courses to learn international languages like French or basic secretariat and computing skills. That could in the future be an added advantage and position them well for better employment. A student knowing perfectly what he wrote in the exams, would have a general feeling of what grade he is likely to obtain. In a situation where you are likely to perform not too good in certain subjects, remedial classes for the November/December (Nov-Dec) examination is a better option to consider, i.e. for SHS leavers. After all, education is not a competition to be scared of who gets to the finish line first. I also haven’t lost sight of the lack of remedial classes/exams at the JHS level. These pupils spend just a week to write almost the same number of papers their older SHS colleagues spend about a month to write. Upon all the pressure that mounts on them, they do not get another chance to correct their mistakes if it becomes necessary but their SHS counterparts do. Some students, in order to go back to school to join their juniors would rather prefer discontinuing education. This I think is unfair and therefore call on the Ghana Education Service to institute measures that will make writing of final exams at the basic level flexible for our pupils. As the graduates will be pondering and subsequently decide on which course to read at the next stage of their education, Parents ought to guide and not to impose any course on them. The final decision (as stipulated in section 2 of The Children’s Act 560), should be in the best interest of the child: decision not necessarily of the parents’ choice or that of the children, but what will ultimately yield to the benefit of those children. We are often referred to, as the future. But the fact is, we cannot have a better future without laying a good foundation from now. ‘Agoro b3so’a, na 3fri anorpa’ my Akan folks would nicely put it. Let’s make the best choices now for a better tomorrow. Gabriel Obodai Torgbor-Ashong SRC – General Secretary Ghana Institute of Journalism gabrielashong@gmail.com

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.

Tags:  

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.

Related to this story

• Washington DC NPP chairman signals bid for USA chairmanship

---

• Sheikh Ali Muniru remains Volta regional Imam, says National chief Imam

---

• GoldBod CEO accuses Minority of hypocrisy over Gold-for-Reserves losses

---

• Sammy Gyamfi to address alleged losses under gold for reserves programme on Jan 5

---

• BoG–GoldBod $214m hit is design failure, not market loss – Minority

---

• Festive season sees minor fires, but domestic cases hit 15–20 daily – GNFS

---

• CLGB statement on IMF-reported losses under the Gold-For-Reserves programme (G4R)

---

• Ghanaian scientist Moses Mayonu pioneers metabolomics research on the global stage

---

• Planetech Week: Israeli Innovation Sweetens Global Tables with Cherry Tomatoes

---

• Minority demands answers on Bawa-Rock Limited monopoly in GoldBod deal

---