From uniforms to graduation requirements, the high school experiences can vary significantly from one country to another. For students in Ghana and the United States of America, the differences are particularly striking.
High school is known as senior high school in Ghana which starts from grade ten to grade twelve, junior high school is from seventh to ninth.
In the United States of America, students go to school and go back home at the end of the day but in Ghana, the boarding house becomes the home of every high school student. Whenever a student starts high school, you are required to stay in the school. Everything you need will be in the school and you are not allowed to go out of the school till you are on vacation or given holidays.
It is believed that the student begins to learn how to live independently of their parents while in High school. Students learn a whole lot of things while they are in high school. Making proper budgets, doing your own laundry, taking care of yourself are some of the things you can learn while in high school.
Moving forward, there are different graduation requirements for students in Ghana and the US before and after high school. Before a student enters into high school in Ghana, they write a Nationwide test which normally lasts for a week. This test is known as the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). You can’t enter high school without taking this test. Results will be released a month and half or two months after you take the test.
Just as in America, students select five or six high schools they would like to attend with their best preference at the top. All schools are placed in categories depending on how they perform when it comes to academic excellence. Therefore students choose schools from each category from the top to the bottom. This is similar to the US just as higher GPA’s will get you into better schools and better test scores in Ghana will get you into better schools. So, the better your grade, the better school you will attend in both countries.
Also, students are required to write another Nationwide test which is called the West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination(WASSCE), which students are currently writing in Ghana before they can graduate from high school. Results will be released again after a month. Students need their results again to be able to apply to college. Colleges also admit students depending on their performance during the WASSCE.
Students who do not get good grades will have to wait to be able to write another examination which is organised purposely for students who did not get good grades during their WASSCE. This encourages students to study hard in order to make their grades so that they would not have to repeat a year to take another examination.
When it comes to the dress code of students in America, students wear whatever they like to school with few rules governing the way they dress. Dress code is an important aspect of Ghanaian high school and its culture as a whole. Students always wear uniforms in high school. Each day always has a particular uniform that they wear. Some uniforms are worn two or three times a week with the kind of shoe or sandals you are supposed to wear depending on your school because most schools have prescribed shoes and sandals for students.
In addition to the classroom uniforms, they also have other uniforms they wear when they are in the dormitory because they are not allowed to send any clothes to school. Aside from the way students dress, their appearance is also another different thing. Students are expected to always have their hair cut, no nails, jewelry or make-up.
In addition to the differences above, there are other behaviors students are not supposed to put up either at school or out of school. Before a student could answer a question, you are supposed to raise your right hand. Students are also not allowed to have boyfriends and girlfriends. Students are also not allowed to use phones while in school both in the classroom and in the dormitory.
In an increasing world, understanding the differences between Ghanaian and American high schools can help us appreciate the diversity of educational experiences. By recognizing the unique strengths and challenges of each system, we can work towards creating more inclusive and effective educational systems worldwide.
