Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in Charge of Education and Professional Development, Kwame Dagbandow, has revealed that there is crisis in Ghana’s educational sector which needs to be addressed.
Speaking at the launch of the Global Action Week for Education (GAWE), Mr Dagbandow indicated that among the challenges confronting the educational sector in the country is the capitation funds used to facilitate primary education for children which has been in arrears since 2019. He explained that the situation has compelled many heads of public schools to operate on credit.
“Since 2019, this is the most pathetic one, which breaks some of us down. The capitation grant has been in arrears and we have our education in crisis. This is a tragedy in our education delivery in Ghana. Let us be reminded that education as we Unions will term it, is not a commodity and must not be for sale for the highest bidder nor should it be privatized. Education is a public good and it must be enjoyed by all.”
Kwame Dagbandow
Highlighting the issues confronting education in the country, Mr Dagbandow rehashed the lack of textbooks since the introduction of the new curriculum by National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA). Describing the situation as pathetic, he noted that the issue has made education a luxury for pupils in public schools since the provision of books have been left to a few.
Owing to this, the Deputy General Secretary called on government to resolve the issues in pre-tertiary education institutions, particularly, basic schools. He emphasized that should government fail to intervene, the country will have more social issues to confront in the near future.
“If you want to step up education and ensure that the children of today actually have access to quality education, it is important that all of us, including government, need to be strongly committed; not just verbal commitment but one that will provide resources available for the development of these children.”
Kwame Dagbandow
Government urged to address challenges within education sector
On her part, Chairperson of the event, Dr. Esther Oduraa Ofei-Aboagye, charged government to respond to calls by stakeholders in the education sector. She indicated that government must exhibit good faith since the future of children and the country depend on it.
“It is important for all of us to get our hands to the wheel and focus on what we want as a nation to realise SDG 4. We won’t stop, we have to persist and pursue what we want. We want our government to show good faith. They may be very well-intentioned but when we invite them to events like these and they don’t turn up, it doesn’t speak well and doesn’t signal the good intention that they want to send across. We need to see more in this regard.”
Dr. Esther Oduraa Ofei-Aboagye
This year’s Global Action Week for Education (GAWE) celebration was launched under the theme; “Building Forward a Resilient Pre-Tertiary Education through Inclusive Planning”. It seeks to bring together relevant stakeholders to dialogue on actions for education in time of emergencies.
The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC), in charge of the week-long event, will undertake regional programmes during the stipulated period.
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