By Samuel Akumatey,
Ho, May 21, GNA – Mr Francis Asamadu, Executive Director of the Complementary Education Agency (CEA) says the Agency is being positioned as a solid structure for completing the nation’s quest for a fully developed human resource base.
He said the non-formal classification of the nation’s human population continues to hold a significant number, and that a new legislative Instrument, and policy, currently at advanced formulation stages, would empower the non-formal education agency for total inclusion.
Mr Asamadu was addressing the opening session of a three-day workshop in Ho and said the ACT that established the CEA, gave it a broader and enhanced status, which affected the classification of the non-formal to benefit among, other school dropouts, and provided the resilient structures to meet the needs.
He said the ACT enjoined the Agency to formalise all its activities, and with that, came the need for the production of standard documents including the Legislative Instrument (L.I) and a Complimentary Education policy.
The Executive Director said the standard documents would cause the informal education structure to level up with the likes of the Ghana Education Service (GES), and the Council of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET).
This, he said, would help meet the literacy and competency needs of those outside the coverage of the two education bodies.
The new L. I and policy documents for the needed transmutation are in the making with the help of the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), an organisation credited with mainline support for transformational regimes within the education sector.
The Executive Director said the national functional literacy programme would be transformed to support non-literates, particularly the youth to acquire skills and be educated from basic through tertiary.
Mr Asamadu commended the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office for its commitment to helping with the establishment of a transitional structure for the CEA and also supporting the current operations of the Agency.
Madam Rita Tetteh of the FCDO said the Organisation remained active within the general reformation of the education sector and was committed to ensuring the required elevation of the informal education sector.
She said the office would also partner with the government to end the prevailing menace of schools under trees, which she said diluted the nation’s developmental impression.
Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister who opened the workshop, said the passage of the Complimentary Education Act showed the Government’s commitment to transforming education in all forms.
He said the CEA had been captured in the 2022 budget, and that the Regional Coordinating Council would continue to partner the Agency in the Region.
The new L. I and CEA Policy, when approved, would see the establishment of learning centres across the country among other structures, and which would be realised through broad collaborative efforts with stakeholders in the education and related sectors including trade associations.
The proposed documents also provide frameworks for funding and monitoring and evaluation, and the workshop, attended by representatives of all stakeholders on the project, was to help “review legislative inputs and map a way forward.”
GNA