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Poor WASSCE results in math and science spur MOE dictionary purchases… wait, what?
The Ministry of Education (MOE) recently purchased 2.5 million copies of English language dictionaries. The dictionaries come with a price tag of 70,000,000 Ghana Cedis. Of all the problems in the Ghanaian education system, addressing a lack of dictionary access seems odd. The purchase comes on the heels of the WASSCE results, which highlighted continued underperformance in the mathematics and science disciplines. Naturally, in explaining the purchase, Professor Opoku-Agyemang said the dictionaries would make learning in mathematics and science easier. I suppose then that calculators would be the response to poor testing results in the English and history subject exams? This backwards logic highlights the government’s inability to fix a system riddled with flaws. At best this purchase represents a misguided use of funds; at worst, it is a self-serving act to allow the MOE to highlight that it has “increased the text book ratio from one text book to three children as of 2013, to four text books to a child.”
More private sector support for STEM
An event was held to acknowledge and display gratitude for Tullow Oil’s renovation of the science lab at the Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast. Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, who attended the event, mentioned that without science training, there is no way Ghana can keep up with the rest of the world. While his statement was neither novel nor profound, it is true. Accordingly, it is encouraging to see another example of the private sector doing its part to help address the lack of STEM education resources, a problem which has severely hamstrung the education system in the past.
A not-so-traditional attempt at de-politicizing education
Professor Kwesi Yankah, head of the Central University, is trying to gain favor for a law mandating that politician and policy makers’ children go through Ghana’s education system. Yankah’s point is that politicians don’t have skin in the game, so they aren’t as concerned about the outcomes of legislation or initiatives. I’m not sure about the extent to which Yankah’s proposition would be beneficial, but his argument that partisanship is hurting the education system seems to check out. Despite the WASSCE improvements from 2015 to 2016, test results (on a pass/fail basis) are still down significantly from where they were in 2012 under the four year Senior High School (SHS) system. He cites a 2013 workshop organized by the Oxford University and GES that linked an additional year in SHS to more test-ready students. To be sure, putting political goals above certain national goals is not unique to Ghana. And that’s unfortunate. But it certainly doesn’t make it any more tolerable. The government needs to put political motives aside and do what is best for the future of Ghana.
Efforts for a new English textbook in public schools
The president of the Ghana Association of Teachers of English (GATE), Mr. Joseph Kwame Dzasimatu, is lobbying for the MOE to procure copies of the “Gateway to English” textbook for public schools. Details of cost were not mentioned, nor was the textbook’s approach explained in detail, but Dzasimatu emphasized the point that the textbook was deemed to be the best English textbook in 2014 by an evaluation team of the MOE.
New e-book deal for Ghanaian Colleges of Education
The National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) inked a deal with Reed Elsevier, a Netherlands-based Information Solution provider, to supply e-book services for all 38 Colleges of Education in Ghana. The contract lasts three years and cost $300,000 (1.1 million Ghana Cedis). Of note, the contract will connect the Colleges of Education to Science Direct, which provides access to high-quality and up-to-date information—and comes at a time when educational improvements in science are much needed in Ghana.