Education Reform using Common Career Selective Programme (CCSP) to Promote Education-for-All (EFA)

Abstract

Choosing a course of study in a Senior High School in Ghana is a major problem for both students and parents, due to the limited number of Courses Offered. The courses are governed by the national education and curriculum framework. The educational policy guideline provided the main courses as: Agriculture, Business, Technical, Home Economics, Visual Arts, General Arts, and General Science options, irrespective of individual career aspiration. A report made public in 2018 indicated that, education in Ghana is not of good quality, students attend school from basic to secondary level for an average of 12 years, only at half capacity. The outcome of the poor quality of the education system is waste of human capital resources. To address these challenges, the study explored education reform and new policies that brings systematic changes across the entire education system, particularly in the design of courses and curricula. The study employed content analysis based on the Ghana Education Service's 2021 second-cycle school register, and data analyzed from the Ghana Senior High Schools Annual Digest 2019/2020. The methodology employed Common Career Selective Programme, a structured basic education and training programme, designed to help improve the quality of education, and for students to explore within a broader curriculum. The proposal modified the seven main courses into 18 major courses, which consist of a course header, abstract, course description, career options and requirements. The results provided a variety of course options that suit individual innate abilities, focused on the student’s career goals, intensify lesson content, improve quality of education, and advance human resource capacity, providing Education-for-All beyond the year 2030. In conclusion, the study proposed education reform for courses and curricula, to promote basic education knowledge, actionable recommendations, and policy amendments to improve and promote quality education in Ghana, West Africa, and other countries globally.