Dr Peter Anti, Executive Director of the Institute for Education Studies (IFEST), has publicly denounced a recent poll conducted by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) as an inadequate gauge of the true quality of Senior High School (SHS) education in Ghana.
The IEA poll reported that 64.7% of Ghanaians believe the Double‑Track System has negatively affected SHS quality. According to Dr Anti, the findings merely echo public perception and lack the rigorous scientific data required to substantiate claims that the policy has degraded educational standards.
Speaking to Citi News, Dr Anti stressed that the poll reflects respondents’ lived experiences rather than an objective assessment. “For perceptions, people have perceptions,” he said. “If you talk to parents whose children go to school, spend one to two months, go back and spend three months, and they are creating problems for them, they will not have a good report on the double track.” He added that parents who pay for extra classes after a three‑month stay would also likely criticize the system.
Dr Anti called for a comprehensive, scientifically rigorous impact evaluation that controls variables and tests hypotheses. “And for that, I’m here to see a very elaborate study on that,” he said.
The IEST’s critique highlights a growing debate over how best to measure educational outcomes in Ghana’s evolving school system.
