A lecturer at the University of Education Winneba (UEW), Anita Oforiwaa Aduboahene, has called for a paradigm shift in the country’s educational system, particularly at the Senior High School level.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show, on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, she said the current curriculum used in the Senior High Schools has been structured such that “teaching and learning' is focused on cognitive knowledge at the expense of other skills needed by students to develop.”

She opined that this style of teaching does not equip students with the requisite skills for the job market.

“I believe we need a paradigm shift in our secondary school education. We need to work on the curriculum and how we teach in the secondary schools,” she explained.

The educationist said this on the back of the release of a report dubbed ‘Secondary Education in Africa: Preparing Youth for the Future of Work’, that underscores the need for African governments to prioritise secondary school education.

According to the report, on a survey by Mastercard Foundation, the vast majority of the youth in Africa leave the education system and transition into the workforce before entering tertiary education. Out of the 98% of young people who enroll at the primary level in Sub-Saharan Africa, only 9% make it to tertiary education, and only 6% graduate.

It is against this background that Madam Adu-Boahene proposed that Senior High School education should be structured such that students will be ready for the job market once they complete SHS.

“If we teach well in the secondary schools, by the time our students exit, they’ll be equipped with the skills that they need for the job market and even if they don’t further to the tertiary level, they’ll still have some skills they can use in the job market,” the lecturer stressed.