By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
Accra, June 28, GNA – Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Ghana Chapter, has engaged actors within the education sector on its digitised gender-responsive pedagogy (GRP) platform which serves as professional development model.
The GRP basically is about approaches or methodologies that are gender responsive in addressing issues of girls and boy in a fair and dignified manner during teaching and learning and other schools related activities.
The engagement which took place in Accra brought together officials from the Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Education, NaCCA, teachers, heads of schools amongst others.
Its purpose was to let stakeholders understand that the GRP platform exits and need to integrate it into national policy, national teaching curriculum and courses at Colleges of Education and universities.
The GRP tool-kit is a course that consists of two parts where there are GRP 1 on Teaching and learning and GRP 2 on Gender-based violence.
It consists of 12 units and a quiz at the end of each unit with a final test after completing Part II of the course and to generate a signed certificate, to answer correctly to at least 80 per cent of the questions.
Mr Richard Amoani, National Coordinator for FAWE Ghana Chapter. said, the digitised GRP platform was a tool-kit that could scale up learning outcomes because it promotes that equal and conducive atmosphere devoid of gender biases, fear and intimidation within the school setting.
“We should address girls and boys the way we should taking into consideration their needs. We should look at them as people having different needs and therefore the tools and the methodology to reach out to them should not be the same,” he said.
He said the toolkit was developed at the African level and had the content of different countries within the 34 chapters that FAWE operates in Africa, adding that continuous engagements would help tailor it to address the issues within the Ghanaian context.
“UNICEF West and Central Africa, International Institute of Capacity Building of UNESCO at the African level have partnered FAWE Secretariat and with collaboration from the Education Ministry and Curriculum Assessment Development Unit, gender responsive pedagogies will be an integral part of education,” Mr Amoani said.
He said policy makers, parents, caregivers, TVET, apprentices, craftsmen and women at the Community level would also be engaged, adding that “within one year we will collect enough information and together with Ghana Education Service, we will roll out the digitised GRP in the middle of next year or by 2026.”
Dr Mercy Nyamekye, Acting Director, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, NaCCA, after participating, said the digitised GRP ought to have approaches that could accommodate every learner in the class, adding that teachers after going through the model should have gender clubs in their classrooms.
“At the community level, we should produce a parent guide of about 12 pages where five pages should be full of illustrations and graphics to explain the images. Daily text messages on gender responsive issues on what to do and not to do be sent to parents,” she said.
GNA