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It takes a village
Members of Ghana’s education sector are doing their best to call stakeholders to action—a collective effort is the only way they see the system overcoming instances of corruption (e.g., teacher absenteeism, unapproved fee charges, exam malpractices…etc.). Speaking at an event sponsored by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Samuel Kaninda, Transparency International Regional Coordinator for West Africa, highlighted the inability to attain sustainable development without a good educational system. By the transitive property, addressing corruption in education becomes a prerequisite to national development. Kaninda portends that viewing good governance in education as a cornerstone will be helpful in motivating stakeholders to act. Hopefully he is right, for “unless we rally and get citizens from all sectors involved in the fight against corruption, sustainable change will not be achieved.”
GES looking into recent tragedy
Tragically, on Wednesday (2/1) six kindergarten students attending the Jamra KG Methodist Basic School in the Central Region died after their building collapsed on them. In response, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has ordered an immediate audit of all public school buildings in the country. There are tens of schools in the country where students are learning in unsafe conditions, so hopefully the audit forces change where necessary and some good can come from this heartbreaking accident. Furthermore, this event should highlight the need for swift action in the upgrading of facilities. In the case of this most recent tragedy, construction efforts for a new facility were underway, but school authorities and members of the community lamented over the pace with which the renovation was taking place.
Leading and teaching require different skills
Moses Kwame Gyasi, the Board Chairman of the GII, is urging the GES to devote resources to training personnel with potential to reach the headmaster position. His logic is that education, like all other career fields, is one where being a good employee is not necessarily indicative of success at the leadership level. Great teachers are, statistically, unlikely to have developed managerial skills or knowledge of financial management and accounting—often to the detriment of their school. Gyasi was optimistic, though, viewing this shortcoming as systematic and correctible, hence the need for additional emphasis on headmaster training.
Also…
Huffington Post blogpost looking at Ghana in light of the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index (spoiler alert: it’s a mixed bag).
Appeal to do away with the 25% corporate tax imposed on accredited private institutions in Ghana.
Open letter addressed to Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education, regarding the academic credentials in Ghana.
Another week, another reminder of the importance of focusing on STEM-based courses.
A little opinion piece on the debate over changing the official language of Ghana—yes, apparently that’s a thing.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a write-up on the handover ceremony of the China-Ghana Friendship ICT Center for Adeiso JHS in the Eastern Region.
Sad but helpful reminder of the difficult economic situations that get in the way of education for many Ghanaians.