Ghana Education Service (GES) introduces national prospectus for SHS freshers. This new feature, titled ‘National Prospectus’, is intended for all incoming first-year students in order to remove any confusion about first-year student requirements.
Under the new policy, all schools are expected to adhere to national standards without requiring anything other than those set by the government, without parents having to wait for the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) to be available for their children.
The national prospectus is categorized into basic needs and cleaning materials to make it easier for parents.
GES Introduces National Prospectus For SHS Freshers
Categorisation
Category ‘A’ covers basic items such as hard body suitcase or trunk, chop box or hard plastic container, toiletries, beddings, a pair of footwear (school specific), underwear, cutlery, and other educational materials such as mathematical set and scientific calculator, among others.
The second category includes, detergents, sanitary and cleaning materials such as liquid soap, hand gloves, washing powder, bleach and cleaning materials such as brooms, standing mob, mob bucket, and a scrubbing brush.
Early Preparation
Briefing the Daily Graphic in an exclusive interview, the Director-General of the GES, Dr Eric Nkansah, explained that the move was to help parents to buy the items way before the release of the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
He said once parents knew the items their children would require, they could start buying them now while waiting for the placement and added, “for me, that is the joy”.
The harmonized prospectus, Dr Nkansah said, was necessary to eliminate items that schools could do without and also ensure that schools did not include such items and use the same as a barrier to the timely enrollment of students.
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The Director-General also advised schools not to admit students based on their ability to procure all the items, but urged parents to try and procure the items as outlined in the prospectus, “because we have reduced the list to the barest minimum.”
He said the cost of the items in the prospectus was within the reach of all parents and was convinced that the situation where parents spent a fortune on prospectus belonged to the past.
Dr Nkansah observed that previously, some schools were rigid with prospectus, insisting that until the last item was bought, the student would not be admitted.
He, therefore, appealed to heads of senior high schools to be considerate in that regard.
The national prospectus was put together by a committee made up of representatives from the GES, Free SHS Secretariat, TVET Service, with the Conference of Heads of Government Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) also making an input.
He said the GES acknowledged the role of CHASS in the operation of second cycle schools, “and that is why their input in the national prospectus is so crucial”.
He advised the students to ensure that all personal items were embossed or embroidered with their names to avoid getting their items stolen.