Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Akwasi Opoku Amakwa, has spoken extensively on the measures put in place by his outfit to ensure that Senior High Students fully benefit from the online-learning platform put up by government.

Mr Opoku Amankwa, speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show on Wednesday, also addressed some pertinent concerns raised by parents and guardians on the live radio show.

Commencement of TV and Online learning

Mr Opoku Amankwa asserted that the television and online learning for the SHS syllabus had already commenced and that students could now learn on the various TV channels and an online platform set up by the government.

The online platform known as the icampusgh.com can be accessed by SHS students by imputing their BECE index numbers with their year of completion to gain access.

According to him, there are over 600 videos covering all the ten subjects for SHS students to choose from and study.

Over 40 teachers assigned to assist

Speaking further on the topic, Mr Opoku Amankwa asserted that over 40 teachers have been assigned by the Service to assist students with learning on the various platforms.

We’ve assigned over 40 teachers to assist and interact with students while they learn on the online, television and radio platforms, he said.

The teachers according to him, will answer questions raised by students while teaching and learning is ongoing, particularly on the online site set up by government.

 A directive for all TV stations to air educational contents

He revealed that a directive instructing all TV stations in the country to air senior high schools-related courses is in the offing.

The directive, he sad, is to ensure that students who are unable to gain access to educational content on the icampusgh.com due to limited or no access to the internet will do so on the various TV channels so as not to be disadvantaged.

To further deepen access to educational content by SHS students, he revealed the Service, in addition to the aforementioned measures, will make available learning materials on various Whatsapp platforms.

Denies SHS school reopening date in September

Mr Opoku Amankwa denied claims that a reopening date for the various Senior High Schools (SHS) had been set for September this year.

He stated that the video, circulating on social media had been doctored and that no date had yet been set for the reopening of senior high schools in the country.

Not sure how and when to conduct BECE

He also said the Service, amid the pandemic, is unsure about how and when it is going to organise the annual Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

According to him, the pandemic has hindered a lot of activities they were to undertake prior to the BECE, adding that he could not at the moment give a specific  time frame within which the BECE will be conducted.

For now we can’t tell how we will organize the BECE, if we give a date and by that time the virus has not gone we can’t go ahead and do it. And besides there are so many things we first have to do  before the BECE starts like educating the students on how to choose schools and all that, but we now we can’t because of the pandemic, he said.