He says the right stuff During a speech recognizing the 90th anniversary of the Achimota School, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the opportunities to recalibrate Ghana. The Achimota School is regarded as the top school in Ghana, with a lengthy list of influential alumni in both the public (e.g., 5 of Ghana’s 8 civilian presidents) and private[…]

GNAT wants to teach tech… The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is lobbying to make Information Communication Technology (ICT) training examinable in the colleges of education. Accordingly, GNAT is calling for teacher trainees to gain professional knowledge in ICT so that they will be capable of instructing students on how to effectively use computers[…]

Rebuttals to free SHS The Public Relations Officer of the Conference of Heads of Private Second Cycle Schools (CHOPSS), Naphtali Kyei Baffour, offered some pushback on the free SHS policy. Baffour argues that the private sector is the growth engine of the economy, and, as such, he does not welcome a policy that he posits[…]

Free SHS starting next year Making senior high school (SHS) education free was a major part of Nana Akufo-Addo’s campaign platform. Now, a month into his presidency, Akufo-Addo is doubling down on his promise. On Saturday, speaking at the 60th anniversary celebration of Okuaperman School in the Eastern Region, Akufo-Addo said that “the government of[…]

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[…]

Free SHS President Akufo-Addo’s administration has apparently gotten the ball rolling on its plans to make the Senior High School (SHS) system free. According to a letter from the management of the Ghana Education Service (GES), the GES has charged all “regional directors to provide data on enrollment of all second cycle institutions… [which] will[…]

Finance Minister-designate making promising statements Ken Ofrofi-Atta, President-elect Akufo-Addo’s pick for Finance Minister, has said he will alter the current system where teachers work for two years after being posted by the Ghana Education Service (GES) before they receive their salaries. Orofi-Atta seems to recognize the importance of education and the power of incentives. “Education is[…]

Northern schools closed As mentioned a couple weeks ago, some schools in the Northern Region were caught in the middle of a spat between the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the school food suppliers. The GES has neglected to pay food suppliers in the region, and after three semesters without pay, the food suppliers drew[…]

Feeding grant issue remains unsolved The Teacher Trainee Association of Ghana (TTAG) has come out this week to dispute Ministry of Education (MOE) claims regarding feeding grant payments. Last week we saw the MOE shut down a planned TTAG protest. In the latest edition of this case of “he said, she said,” TTAG is insisting[…]

Sobering end to 2016 for the North Headmasters in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West Regions are threatening to not reopen for the second term of the 206-2017 academic year. The headmasters’ actions are in response to the government’s continued unwillingness to pay feeding grants. The Ghana Education Service (GES) is now three semesters[…]