A ranking member of Parliament’s Education Committee, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, has disclosed that some civil society organizations (CSOs) have petitioned the Committee about some challenges confronting education in the country.
The Akatsi North lawmaker indicated that the Committee has resolved to meet with the ten CSOs that issued a damning verdict on Ghana’s basic education system in a document titled “Memorandum of Issues in the Basic Education Sector.”
“The Education Committee received a petition from the civil society organizations, and we have scheduled Thursday to meet the petitioners. We will meet them and hear what they have to tell us and know the way forward.”
Among the many challenges that the CSOs lamented was that some schools in the country continue to operate under trees, sheds, or dilapidated structures.
They also complained about the lack of textbooks and exercise books for school children, non-payment of utility bills, lack of incentives for teachers in rural areas, and politicization of the recruitment of teachers, among others.
Mr. Nortsu-Kotoe acknowledged that the issues that the CSOs raised are genuine and have come to the attention of the Committee, which the government has attempted to address over the years.
“These issues they are raising, they are issues we are very much aware of, especially at the basic level. As we speak now, for three years, capitation grants have not reached the schools not to talk about money for the day-to-day running of schools.”
He also lamented the inadequate budget allocated for education which he stressed is woefully inadequate to solve the challenges.
“The allocation made in the budget is woefully inadequate to cater to the challenges confronting the education sector and so when we will sit on the petition and send a report to the Speaker for further action to be taken.”
