Basic Education Is Collapsing

–Apaak, GNAT Weep

A deputy ranking member on the Education Committee of Parliament and Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa South, in the Upper East Region, is worried Ghana’s basic education has declined and at the verge of collapsing due to neglect and inadequate funding.

According to Dr. Clement Apaak, even though basic education is the foundation and bedrock of teaching and learning, budgetary allocation to the sector in recent days has seen unfortunate decline since the introduction of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.

He stated that, those in charge of the country’s educational sector cannot purport to be building ultramodern senior high schools, and creating more access at the tertiary level when the public basic school system is on its knees dying.

The lawmaker, speaking on Accra-based Citi TV and Citi FM’s ‘The Big Issue’ show on Saturday, June 17,said,the issue is impacting negatively on both enrolment and management of schools at the basic level.

“Basic education is fundamental, and it is the bedrock and the foundation and so you cannot purport to be building ultramodern junior high schools, building ultramodern senior high schools, and even creating more access at the tertiary level when your public basic school system is collapsing,” he said.

He wondered how these basic schools are expected to perform well when textbooks, capitation grants, and enrolment grants have not been paid for several terms.

“How do you expect public basic schools to function when they don’t have textbooks, capitation grants have not been paid for six terms and what that means is that basic items like chalk, attendance registers, fixing broken down furniture, and dilapidated buildings, sporting activities cannot be supported?” Dr. Apaak lamented.

GNAT Speaks

Meanwhile, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has joined the fray as, it called out the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ghana Education Service (GES) for focusing on the implementation of the Free SHS policy to the detriment of the development of basic education in the country.

According to GNAT, managers of Ghana’s educational sector appear to have forgotten that basic education is the foundation of the government’s flagship Free SHS programme.

Mr. Christian Yaw Adinkrah, the chairman of the Madina-Abokobi chapter of GNAT, in the Greater Accra Region, who spoke on Accra 100.5 FM’s mid-day news yesterday, June 19, in reaction to Dr. Apaak’s claims, said because of the neglect, some headteachers are shying away from accepting appointments as heads.

He explained that the 2021 to 2022 academic year’s capitation base grant and enrolment grant have not been paid.

“2022 to 2023 academic year’s capitation base grant and enrolment grants have not been paid,” he said.

Mr. Adinkrah noted that it is only the first-term capitation base and enrolment grants that had been paid when the schools are on vacation.

“It is not pleasant to be a headteacher or headmistress among others,” he indicated.

According to him, basic schools are bedeviled by a lack of infrastructure and that the humongous number of pupils at the basic education level is having a toll on teachers.

“Teachers have to mark home work for students numbering about 70 to 80 daily at the basic level,” he bemoaned, adding that the 15 percent budget allocations to basic schools are woefully inadequate.

Source: Anchorghana.com