Education is acknowledged world wide as the most reliable means available to the individual to achieve a respectable standard of living and also ?the primary tool for the development of modern? societies. It is therefore not surprising that education has become a human right issue which is enshrined in the constitution and other legal documents of modern states. The importance of education to the human race, is further demonstrated by concerted global effort at ensuring universal education for all as is contained in the Millennium Development Goal Two.
Ghana, like all other countries sees this importance of education to the general wellbeing of its people and has accordingly put in place the necessary legal measures to ensure that it remains universally accessible to all citizens. The country has also shown much respect for international protocols on education including the millennium development goal on education, among others.
Recent Development on the educational front in Ghana however? gives the people much cause to worry about the future of education and for that matter what will become of? the youth who carry the hope, and aspirations of the nation.
At the basic level,there have been complaints about shortage of basic aids such as chalk,slate and class register, just to mention a few. Rudimentary as they may seem,these items constitute ?indispensable tools for building the foundation of education and therefore ?have a very crucial role to play in the modeling of the academic outlook of the Ghanaian child.
There appear to be even more confusion at the Senior High level.The extent to which simple matters such as the duration of second cycle education have been politicized in the country leave many Ghanaians in great wonder.It is soo surprising that a nation that prides itself as the beacon of hope for? Africa cannot agree on the number of years that a child should spend in senior high school.
There cannot be doubt about the assertion, that this back and forth on the question of duration has over the years created confusion in the minds of the students as regards the direction of second cycle education, hence the contentious case of mass failure in the 2014 West African Senior Secondary Schools Certificate Examination.
Frequent strikes by? university? and polytechnic teachers and withdrawal of allowance for teacher trainees are but few examples of the numerous? problems that plague tertiary education in Ghana.
On the question of scraping of allowance for teacher trainees,although the rational, in respect of increasing access to teacher training education and granting them some autonomy so as to give real meaning to their tertiary status is laudable,the approach adopted to address the issue was too drastic.The FYPD?s? encounter with people who opt for teacher? education,indicates, that apart from passion for the job,it also provides? a good opportunity in terms of financial obligations, for them to obtain what otherwise would be affordable to only those with the economic? means in society.
Yes,an alternative arrangement, by way of student loan facility has been provided but considering? the forgoing social issues raised,it cannot be the appropriate replacement for the teacher trainee allowance.
The FYPD will also like to urge the educational authorities to take a careful look at external factors such as the negative effect of globalization on school children especially, in the area of the use of social media.We are of the view that there is a correlation between the addiction of school children to social media for the wrong purpose and the recent reports of falling standards in education.Our inquiries also indicate that some school children and parents place acquisition of the latest model of mobile phones before the acquisition of learning aids and other educational needs so as to enjoy the latest mobile phone applications.
These shortcomings in the education sector raises questions about the Nations commitment to fulfillment of the constitutional provisions on education,the United Nations Millennium Goal Number Two and other protocols.
It is a good thing, that the Global Information Technology Report,2014 compiled by the World Economic Forum ranked Ghana first in Mathematics and Science, in Africa, but this notwithstanding,the Global Competitiveness Report,2014 of the same institution, states that the country?s educational system as a whole is below international standard and that should be a matter of concern to all well meaning Ghanaians.
As we begin the 2014/2015 academic year, it is ?important that ?effective measures are put in place to address the problem that confronts Ghana?s education in order to forestall further decline in standards.
Joseph M.Tetteh ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Advocate of Youth Right and Peace & Founder,FYPD? e-mail:[email protected]?????????????? ???????????024-4571090
