It is unjustifiable, worrisome and shameful to witness a nation’s education transacted and managed like the one in Ghana under the Akuffo-Addo Government, marshalled by Minister Adutwum. The Education Ministry, for that matter the Service, is in awkward shape lately. From Tertiary through to Basic, none of the levels is purged of major challenges.
Ghana’s Education System since Colonial Era evolved through workable, well-thought-through policies. Even under Nkrumah and other post-Colonial ruler ships, Ghana could be said to have managed its education with tact. This assertion is confirmed by the fact that education is the pillar of the socio-economic and political development of any nation.
Historically, Ghana experienced educational policies such as Payment by Performance (under the British Colonialism) fCUBE in the early Post-Colonial Era, language policies, grading, and examination policies, among others. By the guidance of the Sustainable Development Goals proffered internationally as standards, education in Ghana has enjoyed some sanctity until recently under this current NPP government.
At the inception of the NPP Government in 2017, the nation’s most sensitive sector, Education, has never been the same. It has suffered traumatic management in the hands of the dentist-turned-education-expert, Dr Napo. Under his watch, the ill-considered NPP flagship policy, “Free SHS” was forced down the throat of Ghanaians. This policy apparently failed from birth because the Presidential Candidate then, Nana Akuffo-Addo could not justify the clear-cut road map and blueprint in terms of cost and implementation. At the time, the Flagbearer and his communicators were vilifying the then president of being sluggish and negative towards the policy. In fact, the NPP rode largely on the back of this overly touted Free SHS to power.
Ever since this knee-jerk policy has been introduced, other culminating and resultant negative effects such as space, furniture, food, human resource among others have surfaced. It is true that this government has gambled with the most revered sector of our economy. The aggregate outcome is malnourished and poor quality of education, the very warning think tanks, industry players and the then Mahama Government issued to the NPP in the run-up to the 2016 General Elections.
The case is even worse of in this second term of the party’s reign. The so-called experienced Adutwum who was made to take over from the dentist, Napo, is almost running and transacting the business of the sector like a second-hand clothing bale (Fose bale) ventured in Kantamanto and Tudu. It is conspicuous that with this current state, education in Ghana is grinding to an imminent halt. Management of this service is now, “Matsor makoe”, “Broni woewu buying”, trial and error transaction. This is evident in the Rambo-style approach to dealing with policies lately. Topical among them is the most recently proposed semester system for Basic Education which is U- turned after few days of pressure. Ghanaians believe that no serious consultation could breed such a forcefully rejected policy. In any case, think tanks like IFEST and EduWatch, Teacher unions and major industry players cast a slur on the idea and subsequently adduced convincing reasons for its unfitness for purpose. This government, amidst all these, tried to refute the propositions until recently when it finally bowed to the pressure. Meanwhile, the sector minister is still battling with a new curriculum he introduced close to three years now without the needed consultative blueprint, adequate resources and publicity.
What is the concern of Ghanaians? Ghanaians advise strongly that the sector minister and all others who matter at the policy-making level should be consultative enough and be up and doing in order to salvage labour unrest and conditions of service issues, attrition issues among other things.
Dr Adutwum is petitioned that just as he could equate Ghana to Europe in terms of policy and output, he should also do the same comparison in terms of remuneration and emoluments. He should pay teachers’ arrears, pay promoted teachers, pay intervention and motivation allowances owed for more than two years now, provide textbooks for the running his own trumpeted new curriculum, provide furniture in the choked “Free SHS” schools, provide classrooms for the 5,000 schools under trees, pay the striking TEWU, CETAG, and UTAG members and also pay the teacher-trainees who are have been home for almost half a year now for reasons best known to Mr. “Experienced” Minister.
On this tangent, doom looms at the nation’s education with this style of ill-conceived and poorly-considered management.