By
Laudia Sawer / Isaac Newton Tetteh
Tema, Sept 11, GNA – The double track Senior
High School system took off in some selected public schools in the Tema
Metropolis and its environs with a few hitches.
Mrs Margaret Nsiah-Asamoah, Tema Metropolitan
Director of Education, told the Ghana News Agency that respective desks have
been set up for the registration of students for the various courses thus
making the process smooth and fast.
Mrs Nsiah-Asamoah said the Directorate was yet
to receive any negative complaint from the schools and that her checks had
confirmed a smooth take off.
Government introduced the double-track system
to address the high number of SHS entrants after the roll out of the Free SHS
policy.
The system will see those placed on the green
track starting school on September 11, while those on the gold track would
commence classes on November 11.
At the Manhean Senior High Technical School,
some students who had been offered admission were seen registration while
others were said to have completed theirs earlier and on Monday.
Mrs Eunice Ocloo, Assistant Headmistress in
charge of Academics, said even though the school initially received 398
students, the number shot up to 468 by Tuesday morning.
Mrs Ocloo
briefing Mr Joseph Korto, Presiding Member, Tema Metropolitan Assembly
(TMA), Mr Ali Amadu Mohammed, Planning Officer of the Assembly and acting
Co-ordinating Director, Mr Frank Asante, Public Relations Officer, TMA and
other officials, indicated that the school requested for 550 students for each
of the two tracks.
She added that only one student had been
offered business course at the school, while students resident in Tamale in the
Northern Region, Assin Foso in the Central Region and Western Region had been
posted to the school even though they did not have boarding facilities.
She indicated that the school’s duty was to
offer them the admission which they had done, and had advised them to either
look for accommodation around or report to the School Selection Secretariat.
Miss Rose Afedi, a student from the Eastern
Region told the GNA that even though she did not choose the school, she was
placed there to pursue General Art’s course and did not know what to do due to
the unavailability of dormitories or hostels.
Mrs Janet Bour-Donkor, Headmistress of Our
Lady of Mercy Senior High School (OLAMS), said the school requested for over
700 students to be on the two tracks but received only 330 students.
Mrs Bour-Donkor stated that even though OLAMS
was supposed to run the double track system, it was now running the straight
system.
She further said no student had been offered
visual arts course even though there were facilities available for it
explaining that she was informed that nobody opted to do that course at OLAMS.
At the Ashaiman Senior High School, 704
students for both tracks had been posted there, while 1,036 out of the 1,080
have been offered admission at the Chemu Senior High School
Officials at the Tema Senior High School
(TEMASCO) were unable to give the number of students admitted but the registration exercise was going on
smoothly.
Mr Mohammed said officials of the TMA wanted
to know how the process was progressing and to offer support and logistics to
address any challenges.
He expressed joy at the smooth exercise and
promised the students that the Assembly would present furniture to schools in
the Metropolis.
He announced that 315 tables and 300 chairs
had already been handed over to Manhean Sec. Tech and OLAMS respectively
GNA