Opoku Ware SHS To Become Ghana’s First Smart School

Opoku Ware Senior High School (SHS), popularly known as OWASS in Kumasi is set to become Ghana’s first SMART School.
This is part of a new initiative by the government to modernize education in 30 senior high schools across the country. The announcement was made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, during a surprise visit to the school on Sunday, June 2, 2024.
Dr. Adutwum revealed that the project would start in two weeks, with Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, distributing tablets to the students. Additionally, SMART boards will be installed in ten classrooms, signaling the start of the SMART Project.
The SMART School project, driven by President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government, is aimed at enhancing e-learning and digitalization in the country’s education system. Under this project, schools will receive comprehensive teaching and learning management systems, along with digital educational content for senior high and technical vocational education and training (TVET) institutions nationwide.
Dr. Adutwum explained that once OWASS is fully transformed into a SMART School, all academic activities including home assignments, class tests, exams, marking, and grading will be conducted online. Students will receive their results instantly. He mentioned that other schools would also benefit from this system. They will be able to log into OWASS’s system and participate in classes such as chemistry.
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The Minister also spoke about the government’s plans to establish more virtual learning high schools in the country, allowing students to register and take courses online. He emphasized the positive changes in the education sector since the Free SHS policy was implemented. This policy has significantly increased student enrollment in senior high schools and boosted the number of girls attending secondary school.
Before the Free SHS policy, the national student population at the senior high school level was just over 800,000. Now, it stands at 1.4 million. The intake for first-year students at senior high schools is currently 505,000. Dr. Adutwum provided a regional breakdown of SHS enrollment rates: the Northern Region has a 95% entry rate, followed by the North East and Savanna Regions at 94%, the Upper East at 92%, the Upper West at 89%, and the Volta Region at 76%.
He assured that measures are in place to ensure more Junior High School (JHS) graduates continue to senior high school. The Free SHS policy has also positively impacted girl-child education. Before the policy, for every 100 boys in a school, there were only 68 girls. Now, there are 106 girls for every 100 boys, reflecting a significant improvement in female student enrollment in senior high schools. Dr. Adutwum highlighted this as one of the significant benefits brought by the Free SHS policy.