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GNECC wants focus to stay on basic ed
The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) is doing its best to make sure the government doesn’t forget how much room for improvement there is in basic education. “According to the Coalition, there were still more than 400,000 children out of school, high attrition rate for girls, lack of accessibility for learners with special needs, inadequate textbooks, and lock of teaching and learning materials,” reported the Ghana News Agency. The GNECC was sure to give credit where credit is due, particularly applauding the doubling the capitation grant to GHC9.00 per annum per child (though it insisted this still fails to cover the full cost of educating a child). The GNECC will certainly continue to evaluate, and hold accountable, the new government.
Teachers to get paid in 2017
Teacher payment complications have been reported on far too frequently recently. However, the Ministry of Education (MoE) seeks to make that a thing of the past. In a sign that various strikes over the past six months were effective, the Minister of Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, pledged that in 2017, the government would pay teachers all outstanding allowances and salary arrears.
Getting more selective
Adisadel College—which recently celebrated 107 years in operation—in the Central Region is set to cut the number of accepted students in half. The decision to impose tighter admissions criteria is temporary. According to headmaster William Kusi Yeboah, the new policy “shall remain… for the years ahead till accommodation facilities in our college improve.” While Adisadel may be the first to reduce its incoming headcount, several others are looking to make a similar change—the Ghana National College, Academy of Christ The King, Wesley Girls High Schools, to name a few. On the heels of a few tragic stories coming out of schools with inadequate facilities, it is hard to argue that this move is unfounded. One can only hope that Adisadel and others move quickly to make the necessary adjustments so that students who qualify and wish to attend are able to do so.
Also…
Education Coalition has come out saying the government’s budget for the free SHS program is inadequate.
Piece celebrating Ghana’s 60 years of independence includes a brief section highlighting education—how far it has come and how it stacks up compared to peers.
Ghana education progress received some more positive press—a reminder that while there is certainly room to run, Ghana is strides ahead of others.
Survey conducted by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) prompts suggestion that the GES and MoE ought to “incorporate anti-corruption education…at all levels of education.”
Minister of Education confessed that the stress over the implementation of the free SHS system has been causing him to lose sleep.