Government urged to hold consultations for education reforms
Government has been called upon to organise district, regional and national stakeholders’ consultative dialogue to seek ideas for the effective and efficient implementation of any reforms in the education sector.
The Centre for Active Learning and Integrated Development (CALID), a non-governmental organisation, who made the call, said such consultations should involve all stakeholders including school authorities, students, teachers, unions and all well-meaning citizens.
This was contained in a statement issued by CALID signed by Mr Mohammed Awal Sumani Bapio, its Executive Director, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale on Tuesday to commemorate this year’s International Education Day.
The International Education Day has been instituted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation to be commemorated on January 24, every year, to highlight concerns in the education sector for governments to tackle.
The statement said despite initiatives such as capitation grants, school feeding, provision of exercise books and school uniforms, the country’s educational sector was still challenged by many issues.
It listed the issues like unavailability of textbooks and other teaching and learning materials, including ICT materials, inadequate and poor infrastructure in schools, poor involvement of parents as principal stakeholders in education in most reforms and poor monitoring and supervision of schools.
It said the negatively affected the performance of pupils and students at the basic and senior high school levels, adding, “There cannot be effective teaching and learning if there are no textbooks for pupils to learn.”
The statement, therefore, called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, “Make available adequate textbooks, teaching and learning materials and all resources needed at all levels for the facilitation of curriculum and co-curricular activities.”
It added that “The management of education in Ghana should be depoliticised.”
Source: GNA