Commenting on the issue of teachers leaving Ghana to teach outside the country and the effect it has on the education sector, Dr. Sharif Mahamud Khalid has requested that the crises in the educational sector to be resolved with speed soon to ensure quality education for Ghanaian children.
He indicated that Ghana has a big attrition rate regarding teachers’ training and deployment, indicating that it is unprofitable for the country to train teachers using taxpayers’ money and then create a situation that forces them to leave the country while the education sector is in dire need of teachers.
He stated that there are no incentives for teachers to want to stay in the country to teach at various levels of education especially when the Free SHS initiative by the government burdens the sector more with the increase in the intake of students but a fixed number of teachers to cater for them.
“So you look at this, okay, since the inception of Free SHS, what incentives have been put in place to actually up or maintain teacher quality and also retention within the sector? None for that matter, so you could remember that the three unions just called off a recent strike action. So what it means is that their needs are actually not being met”.
Dr. Sharif Mahamud Khalid
Furthermore, he indicated that teaching is a noble profession and the country must take the right steps to ensure that the right caliber of persons are trained as teachers to spearhead the education ambition of the nation. He argued that ensuring this is the only way the education sector’s crisis can be resolved.
Dr. Sharif Khalid indicated that the child’s first inspiration and motivation is the teacher, hence the government must be committed to investing in the sector to ensure that the profession is attractive to people who are genuinely interested in becoming teachers.
He noted that the absence of Ghana on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Program for International Student Assessment (OECD’s PISA) list is problematic, as it is clear proof of the poor standing of Ghana’s education system.
Moreover, he argued that providing technological tools like laptops and tablets to students, under the Smart School Program, while teachers do not have the needed Information Technology (IT) literacy and skills to deliver is unrealistic and of no use.
Foreign Minister’s Response Undiplomatic
Remarking on the recent passport chronicle, Dr. Sharif Mahamud Khalid noted that he was unimpressed by the response of the Foreign Minister regarding the reaction of the public to the increment of the passport charges.
He stated that the Minister’s brashness to treat the passport as unimportant is unwarranted.
He argued that the passport, unlike what the Minister would have the public believe, is quite important as it has over the years become a document required to register for other identification documents like the Ghana Card and the Voter ID.
Also, Dr. Khalid noted that the Foreign Minister’s tone in responding to the issue underplays her role as a chief diplomat, arguing that the language of a diplomat of her caliber must be very refined, accommodating, and devoid of naivety.
He suggested that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should engage other qualified professional diplomats to communicate to the public in matters as sensitive as the current issue to avoid riling up the public as the Minister did.
“What’s the definition of a realistic price when it comes to an essential service like a passport? For me, I deem a passport like a birth certificate given the kind of prominence that we give it. Because in other jurisdictions you don’t need a passport to get on the voters’ register or roll”.
Dr. Sharif Mahamud Khalid
Conclusively, Dr. Khalid noted that the use of the passport for various functional issues makes it imperative for the Ministry to make it easy for citizens to acquire, arguing that increasing the cost of obtaining the passport therefore is depriving citizens of the right to acquire a passport.
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