NN37, May 2006
Special Theme on Education and Training out of Poverty? A Status Report
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR WORK IN GHANA: IS VOCATIONALISATION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION WORKING?
By Kwame Akyeampong, University of Sussex
When in 1987 Ghana embarked on major restructuring of its education system there was great optimism that diversifying the secondary school curriculum would raise the importance of practical subjects, motivate changes in attitudes towards self-employment, and ease transition from school to work. It was also argued that widening the range of subjects on offer in secondary schools would cater to a wider range of talents and prepare students for a wider range of future activity. A ?diversified? curriculum structure was expected to create the opportunity to ?provide young men and women with skills training (in addition to general education) in order to enable them fulfil the country?s technical manpower needs including self-employment up to middle level in the field of industry, business, and agriculture? (Baiden 1996). Reformers also viewed skills training at secondary level as one way of tackling poverty - school leavers unable to further their education would be in possession of relevant skills for gainful employment or find self-employment much easier.All secondary schools in Ghana now offer a range of subject specialisations with practical subjects featuring very prominently. Over 50% of the secondary school student population study vocational or technical courses (Akyeampong 2004). This suggests that curriculum diversification is succeeding in changing attitudes to practical subjects and fulfilling an important objective of poverty reduction by preparing students for a wider range of future professional activity. But, what has been the real impact of curriculum diversification on employment chances and poverty reduction?
This paper examines the empirical data in Ghana vis-à-vis other international evidence to assess the real extent to which vocationalised secondary education can equip students for the labour market and contribute to poverty reduction. It also assesses the implications of the costs to equality of opportunity in terms of quality and access. The paper problematizes the economic relevance of secondary curriculum diversification and suggests that developing countries, like Ghana, need a more pragmatic view of: (i) the scale of potential work opportunities in the occupational segment in determining which subjects to offer as practical subjects, (ii) the costs and implications for curriculum policy, (iii) the kind of marketable skills and knowledge secondary school leavers actually need to be productive citizens, and (iv) policies required to make secondary education more responsive to the poverty reduction agenda in low-income societies.