School heads advised to adapt to stay relevant
A Motivational Speaker and Executive Pastor at the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Reverend Albert Ocran, has advised heads of schools and educational solutions to re-skill and adapt to changing times in order to stay relevant and valuable.
That, he said, was because extreme digital exposure and the speed of interaction in the world had made parents and guardians very knowledgeable and more assertive making them more demanding of excellence.
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“The market today is different from the market 10 years ago and if we don’t respond, we will lose our clients so you either disrupt or you get disrupted,” he said.
Rev. Ocran gave the advice speaking on the theme; “Developing a Successful School Brand” at the Annual School Leaders Hangout held on Saturday, February 18, 2023.
Organised by Africa Education Gateway, it brought together heads of private schools and educational solutions to deliberate and address issues affecting the industry.
Disruptions, solutions
Rev. Ocran maintained that the traditional model of education was gradually being disrupted by stiff competition accompanied by minimum entry barriers into the space, technology and virtual teaching, parents increasingly wanting to pay less but demanding higher outcome and parents becoming more audacious about homeschooling, self-tuition and similar alternatives to schools, among others.
“The clients are increasingly demanding promptness, convenience, efficiency, accuracy, information flow, proper service orientation and continuous improvement in innovation and consistency,” he added.
Therefore, in order to become world-class educational institutions, Rev. Ocran urged leaders to; develop innovative approaches, specialise in various fields, appreciate technology, engage in honest self-assessments, implement and police best educational practices.
Collaboration
The Acting Editor of Graphic, Theophilus Yartey, also advised school and educational leaders to take advantage of the media space to promote the image of their pupils and by extension their schools.
“Don’t run away from the media. There is a productive way you can engage us.”
“Our doors are always open to you. Anytime you want stories about your schools told, we are ready to assist you including putting spotlight on exceptional students,” he explained.
Equity
For his part, the Programme Director for Africa Education Gateway, Rev. Grant Bulmuo, lamented the lack of equity in the educational system in the country.
“The reality, when you look around, resources are not uniformly distributed, some schools are more endowed and this has disproportionate access to opportunities across Ghana and within schools,” he explained.
Rev. Bulmuo, who is also an educationalist, therefore encouraged school and educational leaders to share resources as one way of bridging the gap, combating inequity and sustaining the educational system.