By Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo
The Foundation Dean of the School of Education and Life Long Learning of the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), Professor Mohammed H. A. Bolaji, says policy instability and discontinuity due to politicisation and “budgetary quagmire” are some of the key challenges that stand in the way of quality education in Ghana.
He made the observation at the 30th Annual Conference of the Conference of Directors of Education (CODE) in Wa in the Upper West Region.
Prof. Bolaji spoke on the theme “Resourcing of Basic Education in Ghana for Quality Education Delivery.
He indicated that since the introduction of Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE) in 1996 and inclusive policies in 2015, coupled with other policies, there have been improvements in access to basic education, but added that there are issues that affect quality.
Prof. said: “There are several challenges that stand in the way of quality education in Ghana, such as resource constraints, infrastructure deficts, access, and equity, including issues of unsatisfactory learning outcomes, low teacher motivation and retention, and policy instability due to politicisation.”
The National President of CODE, Mrs Bernice Ofori, commented on the one laptop per teacher policy and the delay in making the official annual academic calendar available for pre-tertiary schools.
She observed, “Distribution of the laptops started smoothly, but the long unexplained break in the distribution of the laptops, and now the “bits and pieces” distribution is causing uneasy tension among teachers in the primary schools and education directorates. Teachers who are yet to receive theirs for almost three years now are getting worried.”
The Deputy Director-General of GES in charge of Management Services, Stephen Kwaku Owusu, told the conference that the service has finalised the academic calendar for pre-tertiary schools for 2023 to 2026.
“We have finalised the calendar for three years because they are transitional calendars, because we want to bring our system back to September opening,” Mr Owusu stated.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih charged the participants to explore innovative solutions to further enhance education in the country and also strengthen their collective resolve to provide quality education to every Ghanaian child, irrespective of his or her location or circumstance.
Dr Bin Salih said, “let us use the ideas and strategies that will emerge from the conference as a roadmap for resourcing basic education in Ghana to achieve the quality education delivery we all aspire to.”
