The results of the class of 2022 students who took the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have been hailed as the best in the previous eight years by President of the Republic Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“Six (6) years after the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy, which has guaranteed a minimum of Senior High School education for 1.7 million Ghanaian children, the highest such enrolment in our history, I can state, without equivocation, that I am very proud of the policy and of its results thus far,” says President Akufo-Addo.
On Saturday, December 3, 2022, the President spoke at the Opoku Ware Senior High School’s 70th anniversary celebration. He noted that the third class of “Akufo-Addo graduates” WASSCE results from 2022 show that 60.39 percent of students scored A1 to C6 in English, up from 51.6% in 2016.
He pointed out that in Integrated Science, 62.45% of students recorded A1-C6 in 2022 as opposed to 48.35% in 2016, showing a modest decline from the 2021 pass rate of 65.70%.
President Akufo-Addo also noted that 71.51% of students achieved A1-C6 in social studies, compared to 54.55% in 2016, and that 61.39% of students achieved A1-C6 in mathematics, compared to 33.12% in 2016.
“Let’s not forget that the 2021 class of students, who also achieved extremely respectable results, were the forerunners of the double track system, which at the time of its introduction drew a lot of vilification and unjustified criticism,” he remarked.
“The 2022 results are the best of the last eight (8) years,” the President continued. There can certainly no longer be any debate regarding the legality of the Free SHS policy and its ensuing actions. It operates and operates effectively.
In his speech, President Akufo-Addo informed the audience, which included the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Chairperson of the Council of State, Nana Otuo Sriboe II, that history and the experiences of developed nations have demonstrated that investing in youth education and skill development is the most effective way to build an opportunity-rich society and, thereby, secure the future of our country.
This is so that “Ghana will be built by the people of Ghana, Ghanaians like you and me, and especially the youth of today,” he explained. We cannot make the transition from being a developing to a developed country without having an educated population.
Because of this, according to President Akufo-Addo, “Government has allocated even more resources for the running of the Free SHS policy,” despite the economic challenges facing our country. The budget for Free SHS this year, which is GH 2.96 billion, has increased by 28.6% from a budget of GH 2.3 billion in 2022.
The President urged all Ghanaians to support the fiscal measures that the government has proposed in order to help us achieve the goal of restoring macroeconomic stability and promoting inclusive growth while protecting the poor, just as he did at the Farmers’ Day Celebration.
The policies outlined in the 2023 budget, he continued, “I am optimistic, will go a long way to address the economic challenges with which we are faced.”