Ghana’s JHS, SHS certificates to be upgraded to diplomas – Education Minister

The Ghana Minister for Education has announced plans to upgrade the
Senior High School certificate into a National Diploma certificate
which can allow graduates gain employment after completion of
their programmes.
The Minister for Education has announced plans to upgrade the
Senior High School certificate into a National Diploma certificate
which can allow graduates gain employment after completion of
their programmes.
The Minister said it is unfair for young people in the country to
be forced to complete University before being eligible for
employment in the country.
Speaking at the 2019 Danquah Institute Leadership lecture under
the theme: “World Class Education and Imperative for the Next
Generation of Leaders,” Matthew Opoku Prempeh said a new
curriculum for Junior High Schools in the country will see JHS
graduates completing with National Higher Diplomas while
qualified SHS graduates will be awarded with National Diplomas.
He noted that such an upgrade for their qualification will make
the graduates more relevant and not having to necessarily obtain
University education to be qualified for employment in the
country.
“The curriculum that will appear for the Junior High School will
lead to a National Higher Diploma, [and] when you finish Senior
High School, you get a National Diploma. It is not everybody
who must go to the University straight, but we must prepare our
kids for the world of work.”
“And that National Diploma will ensure that our kids can go
straight to work. If someone can go with the Middle School
leaving certificate into the army, why can’t someone go now with
Senior High School diploma into work? That should be good
enough that anybody who has passed and has a certificate
should be able to be employed provided we have prepared that
person,” he said.
Mathew Opoku Prempeh further advocated for adequate training
for Ghanaian students to make them technologically savvy.
He said such a trait will make Ghanaian graduates compete
favorably with their counterparts from other parts of the world.
University education reduced to 3 years
The Minister at the same event also hinted of government plans
to ensure the reduction in the duration for pursuing
undergraduate degree programs from four years to three years.
“Everywhere in the world, undergrad is three years not four years,
why should we spend four years doing undergrad? We will sit
down with the university lecturers and start challenging them
because Ghana is not an island,” the minister said.