'Increase investment in education'
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According to Mr Ajene, who has over 30 years experience in the teaching profession, the biggest challenge facing Ghana in her bid to attain the level of development of newly industrialised economies was how to widen the opportunity for quality education at both the primary and secondary levels.
“If we want to avoid crises in Ghana now and before 2015, we should promote basic education as not only a constitutional obligation for Ghana but also as a prerequisite for economic growth and poverty reduction. In fact, the educational system is very far from achieving the desired outcomes. We still have challenges at the basic level and these need serious attention,” Mr Ajene said.
Mr Ajene, who is also the founding Principal of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic, made this call when he was a guest speaker for the fourth quadrennial delegates conference of the Upper East Regional branch of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in Bolgatanga.
According to him, one sure way of averting the crises in education is effective supervision. He said where supervision did not exist; the tendency was for teachers not to attend classes regularly or be punctual or both. He emphasised the need for the Ghana Education Service to improve its inspectorate system.
Another approach, he said, was to pay attention to entrepreneurial training so that the products were readily absorbed into the job market instead of being left without jobs.
“Look at our polytechnics, which are meant to produce middle level manpower. Most polytechnic graduates are not being employed in the public sector due to lack of vacancies or they were not specifically trained to undertake specific jobs”
Mr Thomas Baafi, Deputy General Secretary of GNAT in-charge of Education and Professional Development, said as a way forward, Ghana had to rethink how to attract, employ and retain outstanding teaching talents.
He suggested that systems failure in the education sector must be fixed while issues such as delays in promoting, upgrading and salary adjustments of teachers must be given priority .
“The nation needs an education paradigm shift. Education planners must look beyond counting the number of children sitting in classrooms and focus on learning.
The philosophy and goals of education must be tailored at building relevant knowledge, equipping learners with life skills, building positive perspectives and inculcating in learners positive attitudes and values grounded in our culture,” he said.
Mr Steven Gebute, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the GNAT, advised members of the union to be mindful of the implementation of the Education Act, 2008 (Act 778) and improve on their output, warning that “if we are to be retained in the teaching profession, we need to sit up”.
He explained that the act had no room for lateness to school, drunkenness, absenteeism and non-performing teachers.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Daniel Syme, commended the union for the proactive roles it had undertaken to look at critical issues of national interest in education delivery in the country and the region, and urged the leadership of the GNAT and other labour unions in the education sector to desist from defending members who intentionally refused to work when supervisors wanted to crack the whip.
“As you fight for better conditions of service for them, remind them about their duties and responsibilities as teachers,” he added.
By Benjamin Glover/Daily Graphic/Ghana
Writer’s email: [email protected]