IF BASIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION IN GHANA IS WEAK, FREE SHS IS MEANINGLESS – CSOs TELLS GOV’T

A group of Civil Society Organizations {CSOs} in the educational sector has urged government to turn it attention to basic education in the country as its in a state of comatose due challenges facing basic education in the country which happens to be the main pillar of our educational structure as a country.

According to survey conducted by these CSOs indicates that only 17 out 5,400 schools existing under trees, shed and dilapidated structure have been completed in three years since this administration assumed office as government of the day which forms part of the factors that is leading our basic schools into comatose. Per this development, this will take us 300 years to reach our target as a country in the educational sector.

Project manager at StarrGhana Dr. Ernestina Tetteh, emphasized that, politicized deployment of teachers has negative implications for teacher management and equitable distribution of teachers, especially in districts where MPs are not from the ruling government.

She added that government must increase the budgetary allocation to education from the current 12 per cent to at least 15 per cent of the total national budget, using the supplementary budget window, and prioritize the disbursement of allocated discretionary education budget to increase the low budget execution to at least hundred percent by the end of the current financial year.

Technical Programme Manager of the World Visio international Andrew Ofosu Dankyi, urged the public to decouple politics from the issue of our basic education which is in a bad state looking at the numerous challenges pupil and teachers at the basic level goes through. He further called on the government government to release all arrears on the Capitation Grant to end the imposition of various forms of fees on pupils.

He added that government Grant must be increased to absorb the cost of utilities, with automatic annual adjustments instituted in line with inflationary trends and also put on hold secondary education strategy until consultations with teachers and civil society organizations have been held to inform its review.

The group therefore tasked government to immediately procure textbooks and workbooks in all relevant subjects for all basic school pupils and discontinue plan of procuring laptops for SHS to ensure that basic schools have the full complement of textbooks.

They further called on the government todevelop an emergency infrastructure expansion plan for overcrowded urban and peri-urban schools. The Plan must also include a purposive approach to bridging the 25 per cent gap between primary and JHS while providing new schools for underserved communities.

STORY BY: EMMANUEL NII AFRA QUAKUPONG SACKEY