Education Director calls on Stakeholders to Come together to develop Ghana’s Education

She said that would enhance proper discussion of issues in the education sector and facilitate the identification of opportunities for effective collaboration and engagement between the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education both at the local and the national levels.

This was contained in an address read for her by Rev. Tweneboah Koduah, an education officer, during a meeting of the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) with heads of basic schools in Kumasi on Thursday.

Interaction

The meeting provided the platform for an interaction with the headteachers on some current issues in the education sector and the position of the association on such issues.

In attendance were 544 head teachers from the Kumasi Metropolis and Asokore Mampong Municipality in the Ashanti Region.

Mrs Agyemang commended GNAT for spearheading discussions and sensitising teachers to issues related to their development, as well as the current state of the country’s education.

The General Secretary of GNAT, Mr David Ofori Acheampong, in his remarks, clearly stated the position of the various teacher unions on the Ghana Partnership School project expected to take off in September this year, saying they would resist any attempt by the government to implement the policy without the needed broader consultation with all stakeholders to ensure that the right thing was done in the interest of the nation.

Levies in schools

Mr Acheampong expressed surprised at government’s decision to ban the collection of levies in schools in the country and challenged the MoE, the GES and other stakeholders to provide head teachers and basic schools with the needed materials in support of development of the nation’s education sector.

“Why do you ban the collection of levies in schools? You do not plan well by providing the right alternative for teachers to print questions for instance as the term comes to an end and yet you expect the public school head to perform magic in the long run in terms of quality results in the country’s education,” he asked.

He cautioned teachers against caning children and urged them to focus on how to train and mentor the children to grow to be respectful and responsible citizens.

Mr Acheampong said it was not true that the poor performance of students in some basic schools was due to incompetence on the part of some head teachers, adding that it was rather due to lack of supply or the late supply of logistics and educational materials to the schools.

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of GNAT, Rev. Canon Francis Senkyere, pledged GNAT’s readiness to continue supporting the professional development of teachers in the country to complement government’s effort.

Source:Graphic.com.gh