By Priscilla Oye Ofori
Accra, Sept. GNA – The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) has called on Government to adequately resource the education system for improved learning outcomes.
It blamed Government for not providing adequate resources to the development of education in the country.
Mr Festus Longmatey, National Programmes Manager, GNECC, made the call at a workshop held for members of the Coalition, media and stakeholders of the Abidjan Principles in Accra.
The workshop was to equip them with knowledge and understanding to advocate for greater responsiveness of Government policies to citizens’ educational needs.
The Abidjan Principles on the human rights obligations of States to provide public education and to regulate private involvement in education was adopted in February 2019 in Côte d’Ivoire following a three-year participatory consultation and drafting process.
They are a reference point for governments, educators and education providers, which lay out governments’ international legal obligations in the area of education.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a contractual arrangement between a public entity and a private-sector party with clear agreement on shared objectives for the provisions of public infrastructure and services traditionally provided by the public sector.
Mr Longmatey said Government must provide the required logistics for managers of the education system instead of handing over to private managers.
He said the Ministry of Education attributed poor learning outcomes to inefficient management and supervision in public schools, hence, its reason for considering PPP of schools in the country.
However, he said, Civil Society Organisations blamed it on factors, including lack of teaching accountability and teaching investments within the Ghana Education Service.
The National Programmes Manager stated that some of the modules in the PPP would not help improve learning outcomes, but rather widen the existing inequality gaps in the Education system.
“Some of the Heads of private schools collaborate with some of the Heads of public schools to admit some academically poor pupils into the public school when it is time to write the Basic Education Certificate Education exams due to their desire to achieve certain results ,” he noted and stressed the need to watch out for such issues under the PPP.
Mr Longmatey said the practice discriminated against learners, including persons with disabilities of any form in schools, and that most PPP managed schools were more concentrated in urban areas and did not reach those in rural, poorest and remote areas.
Mrs Bernice Mpere- Gyekye, National Coordinator, GNECC, underscored the need for effective implementation of Gender Responsive policies at all levels of education.
She noted that with the concentration on the girl child, the boy child was neglected, which had adverse effects on their development.
“ The advocacy for girls to be in school has been effective at the basic level but the number of girls decrease as they advance to the high levels of education,” Mrs Mpere- Gyekye said.
She appealed to stakeholders to collaborate with Government to bridge the inequality gaps in education in the country since it was a cross-sectoral issue.
The GNECC is a network of CSOs working in the education sector in Ghana with the goal to promote quality pre-tertiary education for all children by changing attitudes and practices, and influencing policies of institutions and the public.
GNA