The new educational reform comprises of a two (2) year kindergarten, two (6) years of primary education and three(3) years of junior high school with four(4) years of senior high school education. As indicated by the previous government, the Ghana Education Service (GES), in collaboration with the University of Cape Coast has enrolled thirty two thousand seven hundred and eighty eight (32,788) trained and untrained teachers in the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) programmes by distance and sandwich programmes to upgrade them to meet the challenges of the new reforms. One academic year after the implementation of the programme, these challenges are now palpable than ever before, hence the current debate on the need to review certain portions of the Joephus Anamoah-Mensahs’report. The question one would ask is, what preparations were made towards mitigating the potential problems that would emanate from the extension from three to four years the period of Senior of High School? That is, infrastructure in terms of number of classrooms and desks as well as motivation for the teachers who would implement the reforms. We are only told that in an effort to address the shortage of teachers and the challenges of equity, eighty per cent (80%) of teachers returning from further studies, and newly-trained teachers are being posted to the under – served areas, but are these seemingly cosmetic measures enough to solve the teething problem inadequate tearchers that has plagued the country for God knows how long? It is also legitimate to ask how many teachers within the past six years who qualified for study for study leave actually got it as the selection process was abused and bedeviled by fraud and corruption. The issues relating to teacher supply certainly need a comprehensive approach devoid of political expediency if we are to solve the problem on a sustainable basis. It remains to be seen whether the new government will add to the plethora of problems that have emasculated the progress in the country’s educational sector or it will pay attention to the issues that matter. It is worrying to observe though that the earlier signs are not too good because the unhealthy haste to revert back to the three-year period for SHS can only seek to perpetuate the political manipulation of the country’s educational policies. That will also deny the system the needed continuity to allow for objective assessment of which policies are good or not. I am nether arguing for nor against the three or four-year periods currently being debated, but I think the obvious problems of teacher motivation, teaching learning materials, and others should occupy our minds. The former minister of education science and sports, Prof. Dominic Fobih addressing a forum for the take off, of the new reforms pointed out that “the Ministry, in collaboration with United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), had printed and distributed thirty thousand (30,000) syllabuses needed for the programme as well as trained nineteen thousand two hundred and eight (19,208) kindergarten teachers. At the same forum, he also outlined a number of infrastructural facilities totaling three hundred and two (302), these range from two to four unit teacher accommodation block, staff bungalows, classrooms as well as libraries, science laboratories and workshops have also, been constructed to ensure the smooth take off, of the programme.” From the above, it is clear these infrastructural facilities are inadequate given the number pupils we have in the country. It therefore not surprising that at the senior high level, the extended forth year still has no syllabus nor text books, additional class rooms and accommodation above all the additional numbers of teachers and supporting staff can not also be guaranteed. Hence the debate about the for a reversal of this policy to three years for the SHS. Which ever direction this new proposition is going to take its’ a clear sign that the innocent Ghanaian student would always be an experimental material, such, indeed does not augur well for our national development, aside the cost incurred by the state in forming Committees whose recommendations may often than not be compromised on the platform of political expediency confuse the Ghanaian parent and other stakeholders in the educational sector. I believe both the old NDC and current NPP reform were done in good faith, however, I think that both the old and the new do not reflect the real solution to the problem hence our predicaments today! Simply put, there are too many "unprepared" students finishing the SSS system and the university system, hence the large failure rate among first and second year students across faculties. The failure rate since the adoption of the JSS system is endemic. Most of the incoming students are not adequately prepared to excel in the rigorous academic environment of higher education. Governments can't arbitrary impose this or any other policy of the reform or improvement in the country’s educational system. Its’ ideal to begin with, by laying out the policy in an open forum for public input and discussion. To succeed with the new possible changes, the government must work hand in hand with the formidable opposition to ensure that the policy has a bipartisan support. The fear is that if it is perceived only as the policy of the government of the day, the opposition is likely to use whatever power it has to sabotage it when they ever come to power of which we are beginning to smell already. Propaganda and outright deception are but a few instruments used by politicians to achieve their aim of keeping the truth from the public. As Nancy W. Keteku, Educational Advisor,Regional Educational Advising Coordinator for Africa, Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy had this to say in November, 1999. “Ghana’s SSS graduates are world-class competitive graduates. Their transition has been smooth: they are performing as well as their A-level peers in institutions such as Caltech, MIT, Dartmouth, Cornell, Swarthmore, Vassar, Smith, Oberlin, Middlebury and Vanderbilt. Ghanaians are gaining confidence in the new educational system as the first Senior Secondary School graduates move successfully through university and prove themselves capable.” How were we not able to sustain this progress? How come we lost focus of monitoring and improvement? What assessment will be given to the new system? Cant we as Ghanaians burry partisan politics and resolve this issue for once? Are we that polarized to the extent that the basic tenet of growth of an economy is compromised? Am a worried soul now, its unbelievable, would we ever listen if God is to speak? By; WONDER MADILO Student Activist GIMPA, Accra. wondermadilo@yahoo.com 0244-764612