Category: Education

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, has debunked media speculations that the Basic Education Certificate Examinations have been reduced from eight to five subjects. 'The subjects remained the same. We are not changing the subjects as they have been discussed in the media space,' he said this, in Accra at a media briefing to update the public on the education sector. He said any change to the country's educational system would involve stakeholder discussions for majority acceptance. Dr Adutwum urged the public to treat such information with a 'pinch of salt,' adding that the Government was focused on transformational education that was fit for purpose. He said there had been improvement in the West African Senior Secondary Examinations test scores, adding that the average performance had improved from 38.73 per cent in 2006 to 69.73 per cent in 2023. He said the Government had introduced serialisation and randomization of examination questions to address examination malpractices. On school infra structure, the Minister said the Government was building schools in the Ashanti, Northern, and other regions to improve learning outcomes. 'We have started construction of middle Junior High School (JHS) and community schools from kindergarten to the Junior High School level with science laboratories and equipment,' he said. Dr Adutwum stated that in April 2024, the Government would commission the projects to enrol students for the new academic year in September. On STEM, he said the Government had constructed new STEM schools across the country, including Accra High School and Abomosu, to compete with the rest of the world. 'We have started a course in aviation and aerospace in some Junior High Schools to develop their pathway in the engineering profession,' he said. On Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the Minister said the sector had been reinforced, where students get hands-on experience of what they have studied. He said the country had built the Anyinam TVET Centre of Excelle nce in the Eastern Region and the Accra TVET schools in East Legon in Accra. He urged politicians to avoid politicisation of every project and focus on the national interest, saying we need to stop the 'slash and burn politics.' The Government, he stressed, was committed to ensuring quality educational learning outcomes with the support of stakeholders. Source: Ghana News Agency

The decision by the Director General of Ghana Education Service to re-open Basic schools and second cycle institutions at Nkwanta South on Tuesday has been welcomed by parents. Some are happy because further delays would make the students and pupils rusty while their peers are in school. Re-opening from January 09 was welcomed by most parents as they were happy with the prospect of their children returning to outdoor life and classroom environment. Some parents told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that they heaved a sigh of relief following the decision of the GES to re-open the schools. Others said managing their children at home for an extended period had been stressful. They expressed readiness to send their children to school as ordered by the GES after months of interruption in learning due to tribal disturbances and insecurity. Mr Awudu Yahya, a businessperson and father of a pupil, said he was satisfied with the directives to re-open schools, adding that he would ensure his son returned to school on Thursday. Another parent, who spoke with GNA said his three children had been home for a long time, noting that the re-opening of the schools was good news for them. He expressed confidence that both the security agencies and GES had done the needful towards ensuring the safety of school children. Similarly, Christiana Adjei, said that the decision to re-open schools was a relief as parents were tired of seeing their children staying at home. On her part, she was elated when she heard the news of school's resumption as it had been stressful trying to handle her kids at home. Other parents interviewed expressed delight over the development, praying that there be no cause again that would force the shutting of schools in the Municipality. Source: Ghana News Agency

Mrs. Ingrid Ansah, the Co-Founder of the Data Link Institute and Technology, has bemoaned the high rate of rote learning among students, saying it has become a worrying issue in schools. Rote learning, popularly known in Ghana as 'chew and pour,' is a type of learning that involves memorising contents through repetition, which is believed to be easy and faster to recall especially during examinations. She said rote learning, and lecturers asking students to buy, read, and strictly answer examination questions based on pamphlets and notes they have authored and sold have led to students graduating without the requisite skills to fit into the field of their studies. Mrs. Ansah said this during a stakeholder engagement organised by the Ghana News Agency, Tema Regional Office, on the topic, 'Transformation of the media landscape from the analogue age to the digital age; the role of training institutions.' 'So now we have people coming out with first-class honours, but their performance is worse than those wi th third-class honours,' she said. She said this worrying trend cuts across all fields of training as employers continue to complain about the kind of human resources available for them to work with from tertiary institutions. Mrs. Ansah said the practice has put unnecessary burden and too much work on institutions, as they must use months to retrain the graduates practically in their field of study, in addition to the company's work culture. 'This is a cry from all over the companies; we have to retrain them in their field of studies; too much work is being given to employers, and this must stop,' she said. She said, 'practical training is totally missing in the training institutions, and this is evident in the workplace.' She suggested that to cure this wrong, professionals from the various fields must be given the opportunity to lecture alongside their work to provide the needed practical training for students while in school. Dr. Ernest Ansah, Founder of Data Link Institute and Technology said, the dema nd for graduates with immediate impact was increasing in today's competitive economy. He said the school was prepared to meet that demands, thanks to the institution's vast curriculum and concentration on real-world applications, which have enabled them to flourish. Dr. Ansah, who is the founder of the Centre for Business and Media Studies' cited numerous obstacles, including funding, poor facilities, and the inability to recruit and maintain highly experienced academics and personnel. He said poor research output, logistical assistance, and low student enrolment were some of the issues facing the country's educational institutions. Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Manager, appealed to professional training institutions to collaborate with the corporate world not only for industrial attachment for trainees but also to create a platform for specific professionals to interact with students during their course of study. Mr. Ameyibor said there was the urgent need for the merger of theor etical training and practical work to prepare students well to enter the job market. Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Clement Abasinaab Apaak, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Builsa South Constituency of the Upper East Region, has reiterated that the National Democratic Congress is not against licensing teachers. 'The NDC is not against licensing of teachers. In fact, we had piloted the project to license teachers. What we oppose is teachers writing a licensure exam. The two are not the same,' he noted. Dr Apaak, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Gbedema, a community in the Constituency, said 'We believe that you can license a teacher without that teacher having to sit to write an exam which is just a basic test of pedagogy, numeracy and literacy. 'We don't believe that after four years rigorous training, if indeed our Teacher Training Colleges are up to the needed standard, teachers should have to write another exam to obtain a license,' he added. He explained that an NDC government would make the licensing process part of the training of teachers, 'When you get enrolled to train as a teacher, ther e is going to be a course that you will be taught from year one to year four, and you will write your final exam. 'If you pass all the other courses, and pass that particular course, you are immediately given a license, and you are immediately deployed. So, there would not be the writing of a teacher licensure exam, and there would not be one-year National Service,' he said. Touching on shortage of teachers in public basic schools in the Constituency, which was a major concern of opinion leaders, the MP, who is the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament's Education Committee, said he raised the issue severally at the Committee level. 'It is not fair to us because we are the segments of society that should get the best. In the advance countries like Canada and other places, it is in the deprived communities that they send their best. Yet in our system, the deprived communities are victimized even more. 'So, what we are proposing, which was captured in our 2020 manifesto, which I know will be repeated in the 2 024 manifesto, is to have a very attractive incentivized package where we can have quarters with electricity. 'Where the national grid is not in the community, we provide solar, furnish these accommodations with television sets, deep freezers and then we have an agreement with the teachers. 'If they agree to go to the rural communities to teach, they teach for four years, they will have all these amenities, we give them motorbikes, and after the four years, we give them a scholarship to pursue further studies. 'I believe that is a policy that can turn things around. And so, for us in the NDC, and as I have proposed, which was adopted for our 2020 manifesto, and I know will be repeated for 2024, this is the only way we can address this issue of teacher shortage in communities like ours, where we need education the most. 'So, we have a solution, and we believe it will work,' Dr Apaak, who is seeking re-election as MP to represent the Constituency, said. Source: Ghana News Agency

Management of Oti Regional Education Directorate on the advice of the Oti Regional Coordinating Council (ORCC) and in consultation with the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has announced the reopening of schools in the Nkwanta South Municipality. Nana Kugbeadzor-Bakateyi II, the Regional Director of Education, said that both Basic and Second Cycle institutions are to reopen for the continuation of the academic year, following the break occasioned by the recent tribal conflict in the area. The statement said the Regional Education Directorate would closely coordinate with the ORCC to monitor the situation in Nkwanta township and ensure the safety of both learners and staff. The statement again requested the Municipal Director and heads of the affected SHS to promptly implement measures to communicate with their management, staff and learners, urging them to return for duty at it earliest possible time. Mr Joshua Makubu, Oti Regional Minister and Chair of Security Council, told the me dia the heads of all security agencies had agreed to the reopening of schools after monitoring the situation. He said adequate measures were undertaken to protect school pupils, students and teachers against any unforeseen repercussion in the jurisdiction. He appealed to aggrieved tribesmen to give peace a chance and re-direct their concerns to the appropriate quarters for redress. Source: Ghana News Agency