The Guidance and Counseling Unit of the Berekum East Municipal Education Directorate has organized a career and program guidance for Junior High School (JHS) 3 students ahead of the course selection for their Senior High School (SHS) education.

The program aimed at orienting and guiding the students to select courses and schools that could lead to their dream jobs in the future.

JHS final year students would be writing their Basic Education Certificate Examination, BECE, in November. And as part of the process to continue at the SHS, they would be selecting their preferred courses and schools. This is often characterized by one complaint or the other when the SHS placement comes out. The situation has been attributed to the lack of knowledge during the selection.

Guidance and Counseling Coordinator at the Berekum East Education Directorate, Georgette Appiah-Kubi said some parents often visit their offices to complain of schools and courses given to their wards not being what they selected or they have been sent to schools far away from their location.

She said, “Sometimes when the students are exposed to what the courses they have chosen entails during SHS 1 orientation, some wish to have their courses changed. And out of frustrations, some stop schooling for lack of interest in the courses they ignorantly selected”.

Georgette Appiah-Kubi explained that most often they are unable to assist them because the courses and schools were selected by the students, hence, the decision of the Guidance and Counselling Unit to bring the students in the municipality together, before they select their courses for their second cycle education, and offer them the orientation to cure some of the avoidable challenges.

The Examination Coordinator at the Berekum East Municipal Education Directorate, Charles Asiedu Adjei, explained that the students were also taken through what goes into the selection of schools and courses to pursue at the second cycle level. 

“Students should select schools based on their academic strength and select courses based on what excites them or the kind of jobs they wish to do in the future. Schools are categorized and students must be guided to select a school from each”, he explained. 

“Oftentimes, some students end up selecting all their five schools from one category, a situation that when detected early, is corrected”, he added.

Charles Asiedu Adjei noted this would ensure students get the school and course they want when the SHS placements are released.

“Just like most of my colleagues, I have a dream to become a lawyer, and until this guidance course program, I didn’t know what course at the SHS would lead me there, and even where to continue thereafter”, one grateful JHS student said.

The students described the orientation as an insightful and eye-opener that will spare them the struggles they would have encountered during the selection of courses and schools for fresh students for the 2021/22 SHS academic year.