We have sacrificed quality for quantity regarding free SHS - UG lecturer

Professor Martin Oteng Ababio, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, has condemned the Free Senior High School policy, asserting that it has worsened the challenges in the educational sector, citinewsroom.com has reported.

Prof Ababio explained that while university enrolments have risen due to the policy, there have been little efforts from the government concerning infrastructure enhancement in tertiary institutions.

Speaking to the media during a campaign outreach by lecturers aimed at raising awareness on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) 2024 manifesto, Prof. Ababio praised the NDC on its proposal to review the Free SHS policy.

He said, “The Free SHS has helped. But it has spelt the doom of the whole educational system. The number of students that are getting into the university has increased tremendously. Lectures have not increased. The lecture halls have not increased. The residential halls have not increased.

“So, we are compromising, and I am a lecturer, we are compromising quality for quantity. In a sense today, if you come to Legon, you enter a lecture hall to find 600, 800 students in one room.

“That makes it very difficult to reach out to each and every one. How many essays can you mark a day? And how many essays can you give to a student?” he asked.

RAD/AE