We’re ready for double track system – CHASS

• Posted on September 10, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), has indicated its preparedness ahead of the implementation of the newly introduced double track system.

The new system, which begins on Tuesday, September, 11, 2018, is expected to create space to accommodate more students due to an  increase in enrollment.

It is also expected to reduce class size, increase contact hours, and increase the number of holidays.

Government adopted the double-track (semester/sandwich) system to cater for increased enrollment under its flagship programme, the Free Senior High School, due to deficit in infrastructure.

In an interview with Citi News, Very Rev. Abraham Osei Donkor, General Secretary of the CHASS), said CHASS has put in place the necessary measures to ensure the successful implementation of the double track system for Senior High Schools.

“I believe by Tuesday to a very large extent we will be ready for the students to come. We have prepared the time table looking at the staff strength. Where there are shortfalls, we have notified management”.

Already, a list of Senior High Schools (SHSs) that will be captured under the system has been released.

This list is made up of 400 out of the 696 public SHSs in the country.

Rev. Osei Donkor called on all stakeholders to contribute their quota to the success of the policy.

“I believe that we should all get involved, be optimistic for us all to reap the intended benefits.”

GES releases SHS placement for double track system

Last week, the Ghana Education Service (GES), released the placements of 423,134 students who have successfully made it under the 2018 Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).

That was out of 521,710 total registered candidates. It means 67,382 could not be placed under the system.

In the release, GES said candidates are to visit www.cssps.gov.gh to access their placements.

It said candidates placed on the GREEN TRACK will resume on September 11, 2018, whereas the GOLD TRACK will resume on November 8, 2018.

Management of GES further advised candidates who could not be placed to visit the CSSPS portal to choose from a number of available schools with vacancies.

The Minister of State in Charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah, allayed the fears of Ghanaians who are anxious about the introduction of the ‘Double-Track System’.

He has urged Ghanaians to remain calm since the policy has come to ensure that every qualified Ghanaian student is granted access to secondary education.

How the double track system will be run

This new system will run in all the categories A and B senior high schools in the country.

The new programme creates a calendar of two semesters in a year for the SHS 1 class, containing 81 days per each semester and 41 days of vacation for a sandwich class.

Over 8,000 teachers are being recruited to handle the sandwich classes, so teachers are not be deprived of their holidays.

Under the new system, teaching hours are increased from six hours per day to eight hours per day.

The new system is expected to cost GH?323 million to implement fully.

GH?267.2 million of this amount will go into teaching costs and GH?55.8 million for academic interventions.

Without the double-track system, the government will require GH?1.3 billion to accommodate the increase in numbers.

Among the infrastructure needs are 622 six-unit classroom blocks at the cost of GH?404 million, 181,993 student desks costing GH?81.6 million, and 3,730 teachers’ furniture estimated at GH?3.6 million.

Source: CNR