Ghana’s educational system

COMMENTARY ON GHANA’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN THE LIGHT OF RECENT CHALLENGES 

In any country, one of the most important areas to advance social and economic development is the provision of quality education for citizens. The demand is even greater today as literacy opens the door to countless opportunities like employment, improving the quality of life, accessing and making optimum use of information communication technology. 

It therefore means the benefits of education can hardly be completely quantified. 

The importance of education has never been doubted by any progressive nation. Today, more than ever before, the practicality of acquired knowledge has made it even more imperative that a nation should prioritise the education of its citizens for further development. 

Recent events on the educational scene in Ghana raise questions on how committed we are as a people in putting premium on quality education.  As the years go by, large numbers of young people are in need of education to be abreast of developments in the world. Today, even with all the glaring benefits of formal education, hundreds of children have never seen the four walls of a classroom, though the obligation by their parents to send them to school is still in force. 

Not even government’s efforts to supply uniforms or give free meals are enough incentives for some parents to send their children to school. 

Inadequate infrastructure to ensure conducive teaching and learning is acknowledged year in year out. 

The motivation to encourage a large number of young people to take up teaching as a life-long vocation has not received the desired attention. Thus not many young job seekers think of teaching as their first job preference. It is not surprising that after further studies, they vacate the classrooms. 

The upgrading of Teacher Training Colleges to tertiary status has been a welcome relief as it forms part of the incentive package for teachers to earn more, improve their social status and equip them with excellent skills as professional teachers. These improvements in the educational sector should attract more dedicated young people to take up teaching, which is, and will ever remain a noble profession. There is hardly any profession that gives so much joy to the heart as teaching. This is because everybody in society would have to avail themselves of future employment, through the efforts of the teacher. 

Screaming headlines in the local dailies and on the airwaves caught the attention of the nation recently of the abysmal performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination of some rural schools which apparently cannot boast of conducive teaching and learning environment. Even with this, it is equally alarming that placement at the Senior High Schools for those who passed became a highly contentious issue with children obtaining excellent grades going through hell to gain admission into schools of their choice. 

The intricacies involved in the selection exercise have also exposed the vulnerability of the present selection system and the authorities should take a second look at it.  Parents also have to contend with the astronomical school fees. Those in low income groups would need a tax relief so that we do not create a class society as the poor competes with the rich in climbing the educational ladder. The educational sector takes a large chunk of the nation\'s budget, but that is what must happen if we are looking for a better life for all. The problems that characterized the delay in reopening senior high schools recently should not be swept under the carpet. 

One only hopes the issue of a stable number of years for Senior High School education has been settled once and for all. 

Let these experiences guide us  as a nation and enrich our approach to finding solutions to problems that bedevil the educational system, for no matter the challenges that we encounter on this journey, and no matter how long it takes, it is better late than never. 

BY JOHN KUMADO, JOURNALIST