Education in Ghana

Headmistress and primary school students of Kentikrono Primary School, Ghana

On the average, it takes about 20 years for a child to complete their education in Ghana. Children from wealthy families usually benefit from attending private schools while children who are from poor families attend public schools. Most children in Ghana begin their education at the age of three or four. They first enter nursery school which is then followed by two years in kindergarten. After kindergarten, the child then continues to primary school, junior high school, senior high school and then finally university. The average age at which a child begins first grade is 6 years.

Before, there were more boys enrolled in schools than girls but with the implementation of equal rights for men and women there are about the same number of boys and girls enrolled in schools in Ghana now. However, it is still challenging for girls to reach tertiary level education due to among other factors unequal distribution of house chores between boys and girls and teenage pregnancy.

The Republic of Ghana has 12,630 primary schools, 5,450 junior secondary schools, 503 senior secondary schools, 38 teacher training colleges now known as colleges of education, 18 technical institutions, two diploma-awarding institutions and five universities serving a population of 18 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 schools. In addition, research in the Ga District has found that approximately 15% of the children in Ga attended private schools unrecognised by the government. In the past decade, Ghana's spending on education has been between 28 percent and 40 percent of its annual budget. However, according to Odeneho Ababio, President of the National House of Chiefs, many children only have access to basic education because of the private schools in their communities.

Grading System

Ghana’s grading system is different at every point in education

US Grading System	Ghana's Grading System
A	1
B	2
C	3
D	4
E	5
F	6

From above, through pre-school to junior high every grade a student gains is written in terms of numbers instead of alphabets, which is commonly known worldwide. This system does not follow the common way of grading, there are no 1+’s or 6+’s as a grade, unlike letter grades which use the system of plusses and minuses.

Senior secondary school

US Grading System	Ghana's Grading System
A	A1
B	B2,B3
C	C4,C5,C6
D	D7
F	F9

Senior high school is more complex. Not long ago a more commonly accepted way of grading was used, but it was changed, making it sometimes confusing to understand. For example, if a student writes a test and gets a B2, this probably means that she/he had a regular performance on the test, but if the student gets a C4 means that she/he failed the test. The new system has tightened the admission grade for universities.

Tertiary education

US Grading System	Ghana's Grading System
A	A
B	B
C	C
D	D
E	E
F	F

Some might look at this and think the grading system looks the same but it is not, whereas 90-100 is an A and D is a pass in the common grading system worldwide, it is not the same for tertiary institutions in Ghana. An A is from 80-100 and a C is a fail, you can imagine the amount of pressure students are under to do well in school, adding insult to injury each major comes with its own set of grade points making it very difficult to obtain a B in some highly competitive majors. The only similarity between these two systems is they both use the grade point average (G.P.A) as a way of assessing whether a student is failing or passing.

Pre-School

Pre-school comprises nursery and kindergarten which usually lasts for 2–3 years, most pre-schools are privately owned, kids are taught school basics like rhymes, poems, alphabets, numbers and some even teach how to use some technological devices.

Primary School

In North America this may be known as Grade School or Elementary School but in Africa and some parts of Europe it is referred to as primary school. A comprehensive explanation is listed in the table below:

Elementary School	Primary School
1st Grade	Primary 1
2nd Grade	Primary 2
3rd Grade	Primary 3
4th Grade	Primary 4
5th Grade	Primary 5
6th Grade	Primary 6

Primary 6 ends primary school in Ghana, Ghana has no middle school system.

Junior High School

Junior Secondary School starts right after Primary 6, it has a different name as compared to other countries, and some countries call this stage either junior high school or middle school. In America this stage starts in Grade 6 but in Ghana it starts when you are in Grade 7. The table below will help in understanding how this works;

Junior High School
7th Grade	J.H.S 1
8th Grade	J.H.S 2
9th grade	J.H.S 3

Countries like Britain have the GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education). Ghana has B.E.C.E that means "Basic Education Certificate Examination" and this exam has to be taken before a student is accepted into senior high school. Formerly, it used to cover 10 subjects ranging from:

• Mathematics
• English
• Social studies
• General science
• Agricultural science
• Pre-technical education
• Pre-vocational education
• any Ghanaian language
• Religious and moral education
• French

But as of 2010, most of these subjects have been integrated and changed whiles others have been dropped and new ones added.The examinable subjects are now

• Mathematics
• English
• Social Studies
• Integrated Science
• Basic Designing and Technology(candidates can choose between Pre-technical Skills, Home Economics and Visual Arts),
• any Ghanaian language
• Information Communication and Technology
• Religious and Moral Education
• French.

Most junior secondary schools are privately owned and they are the best way to earn a BECE certificate. Junior secondary schools run by the government lack many educational facilities that enable students to understand what they are being taught in the classroom and as a result of this most public schools do not write French and I.C.T in the examination.

Senior High School (S.H.S)

Students who pass the BECE are accepted into senior high school, this part of the education system is when the tables turn around, because the best senior secondary schools are government owned, most people will not understand how this is possible but in reality it is just one of the many wonders in Ghana. Senior Secondary school is the same as High School in America, before it would take a student three years to complete senior secondary school but the system has been reformed in 2008, to be a four year term for completion. However, early 2009 this reform was immediately reversed again by the new NDC government, and presently it is 3 years again. The table below will gives an idea about how the two systems are related;

American system	Ghana system
9th Grade
10th Grade	S.H.S.1
11th Grade	S.H.S 2
12th Grade	S.H.S 3
	S.H.S 4 (as of February 2009 cancelled)

From the table, it is easily noticeable that the reformed Ghanaian system is longer to complete and adds a year to the time spent in secondary school which was previously 3 years.

The curricula for Senior Secondary School consists of

• Science (usually three years of biology, physics and chemistry).
• Mathematics (usually three years of trigonometry, pre-calculus, calculus I and II)
• English (usually three years, consisting of composition writing, comprehension, literature general thinking and understanding)
• Physical Education (at least one year)
• Social Studies (usually three years, including government, understanding society, economy and history)

Elective courses offered

• General Arts I (consists of subjects ranging from economics, calculus I and II, geography and French).
• General Arts II (consists of subjects ranging from literature, trigonometry and pre-calculus, history and French).
• Agriculture (consists of subjects ranging from chemistry, physics, agricultural science and calculus I and II)
• Business (consists of subjects ranging from accounting, business management, calculus I and II)
• Science (consists of subjects ranging from biology, chemistry, physics and calculus I and II)

The curriculum for science students is hectic as compared to the other elective courses. Science students usually switch to other electives when they cannot keep up with the science course. In the fourth year students write their final exam called the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). It consists of subjects from the elective courses.

College and University

Post secondary education in Ghana commonly consists of four years of majoring in a specific field of interest. Students are admitted based on their performance on the W.A.S.S.C.E, students who usually obtain a ‘C’ in their elective courses find it hard to get admitted to the public universities, they end up having to apply for private universities in the country.

Some of the best universities in Ghana are

• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
• University of Ghana
• University of Education, Winneba
• University of Cape Coast
• University of Development Studies
• Ashesi University (privately owned)
• Central University (privately owned)
• Regent University College of Science and Technology (privately owned)

These universities offer most of the internationally accepted degrees, which include Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS) and Master of Business Administration (MBA). They also offer professional degrees like Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or other doctoral degree, such as Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Optometry (O.D). Most of the programs offered such as medicine have formal apprenticeship procedures post-graduation like residency and internship which must be completed after graduation and before one is considered to be fully trained.

ICT in Education

Computer technology use for teaching and learning began to receive governments’ attention in the past decade. The ICT in Education Policy of Ghana requires the use of ICT for teaching and learning at all levels of the education system. At all levels of the educational system attempts have been made by the MOE to support institutions in teaching of ICT literacy. Most secondary, and some basic, schools have computers.

A recent study on Pedagogical integration of ICTs from 2009 - 2011 in 10 Ghanaian schools indicates that there is gap between the policy directives and actual practices in schools. The emphasis of the official curricula is on the development of students’ skills in operating ICTs but not necessarily using the technology as a means of learning subjects other than ICTs. The study also found that the MOE is currently at the stage of deployment of ICT resources for developing the needed ICT literacy required for integration into teaching/learning.

Student life

Those wishing to continue with their education move into the 3-year senior secondary school program. Most of the senior secondary schools provide boarding facilities, which most of the students use. Students select courses leading them to courses they may offer in the universities like General arts, General Science, Visual Arts and many other courses offered. At the end of the 3-year course in the senior secondary schools students are required to write an exam called West African Senior Secondary Certificate Exam (WASSCE). Other international exams are also taken such as SAT, TOEFL and IELTS. Entrance to universities is by examination following completion of senior secondary school. School enrollment totals almost 2 million: 1.3 million primary; 107,600 middle; 48,900 secondary; 21,280 technical; 11,300 teacher training; and 5,600 university.

Ghana Institute of Languages is one of the oldest Institutes to learn foreign languages. It has three branches in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale. In Accra the Institute is situated in Adabraka, in the old campus of Workers college not far from TUC. The Institute consists of three schools;the school of Languages, the school of Bilingual Secretary, and the school of Translation. Seven foreign modern languages are learned there, namely English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. The institute has about 2,000 students in the academic year 2008.

There is currently an on-going educational reform in Ghana, and teaching is mainly in English, Ghana's official language.

See also

• List of universities in Ghana
• List of Senior Secondary schools in Ghana

External links

• National Accreditation Board - Ghana : Universities
• National Accreditation Board - Ghana : University Colleges
• Ghana Education Service on Ghana Government website
• Ministry of Education of Ghana:Senior Secondary Schools
• Review of Education Sector Analysis in Ghana 1987-1998
• Ghanaweb.com - Universities in Ghana
• Education in Ghana at the Open Directory Project
• reference for the grading system, accessed 2009-27-01.
• Structure of the Education system in Ghana (.pdf), accessed on 2009-02-01.
• The Educational system of Ghana, accessed 2009-02-01.
• reference for universities in Ghana, accessed 2009-02-01.