Double track taking toll on SHS staff — Parliamentary Select Committee on Education

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Education has showed extensive distress on top of the disadvantage the double-track system possesses on teaching and non-teaching staff of Senior High Schools (SHS) all over the country.

“The double track system has brought a huge detriment on school directors. Analysing things together, we noticed that the students the school management are taking in charge of is very large in number and if negligence occurs, they will not be able to function as they used to.

It said the students that are guided due to the double track system was is soo huge an that it is unbearable for school principals and directors including the staffs.

“Starting from the heads of the schools, down to the administrations to some teaching and non-teaching staffs, neither one of them can take some days off due to the reason that, immediately one group vacates, different group arrives in the space of 72 hours,” Peter Kwasi Nortsu-Kotoe the Chairman of the committee said that, after the committee had negotiated with administrations and teaching and non-teaching staffs of some schools, we got to know that they do not rest at all.

He said the condition was affecting them psychologically and physically, this demanded for high priority, that is the elimination of the system the SHS is going through now.

Last Monday, the MP for Akatsi North, Mr Nortsu-Kotoe, steered the committee to pay a visit to four Senior High Schools in the Greater Accra Region. The controlled visits by the committee constitute its authorisation to supervise actions and exercises, initiatives and schemes of the Ministry of Education, most especially in private universities and Senior High Schools.

Mr Nortsu-Kotoe shared his opinion saying that, pupil in the SHS if possible allocated equally among schools in the country.
“We should put an effective measure in decreasing number of students in school that occupy the Category A. It doesn’t look good to me when over six thousand students are controlled by just one hundred and eighty-seven teachers.

He emphasised that, we need to expand Facilities that are in Category B schools must be enlarged to take and cater for many students from the up coming academic year.

Mr Nortsu-Kotoe complimented the heads of the schools including their teaching and non-teaching staffs in spite of the challenges for keeping a good and effective educational excellence.

Hajia Katune Natogmah Attah, the Greater Regional Director of Education, also responded to the stress the double-track system was depositing on the education sector of the country, most especially in regions of which works and structures difficulties endured.
She requested the government to build on and advance structures to take away million reasons why double-track system should be in existence.