Five thousand, three hundred and thirty three (5,333) out of 10, 791 teachers in all the 474 public Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) in the country, do not have professional teachers qualification.
According to the findings of the Presidential Committee on the Review of Education Reform in Ghana, the figure which represents about 50 percent of the teaching staff, puts the Ghana Education Service on notice to ensure that teachers are appropriately trained to enable them acquire the necessary knowledge and skills.
The Committee asked the Curriculum Research and Development Division (CRDD) of the Ghana Education Service to review all syllabuses and programmes every five years. This should be done in consultation with Teachers Education Division, Inspectorate Division, The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the Universities and the Polytechnics.
The 30-member Committee, chaired by Prof Jophus Anamoah Mensah, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, spent some ten months in 2002 working on the report.
"Ideally all teachers of the SSS level should be qualified professional teachers with a minimum qualification of a first degree or Higher National Diploma. (HND)," the Committee said. "Since such teachers are lacking in the system, first degree and HND holders who are non-professionals should be recruited to teach at the SSS level."
"Heads should look for the right type of qualified teachers to teach in the different subjects," the Committee said.
The Committee also recommended pre-service training on methodology for such non-professional teachers for at least six weeks, observing that all teachers need self-development through research, participation at conferences in their various disciplines and writing textbooks out of their own research experience.
"Teachers should be trained in test construction and administration so as to make them proficient. Regular workshops should be organized to emphasise to teachers the importance of continuous assessment techniques and their role in making the Continuous Assessment an effective component of the Senior School Certificate Examination."
The Committee recommended a mechanism for organizing regular in-service training workshops for teachers. In addition, teachers must be encouraged to join subject associations. Such associations, according to the Committee, need to be strengthened to enable them facilitate short courses and workshops.
The Anamuah Committee said all teachers need to be properly motivated with good conditions of service to ensure their effectiveness and retention.
"Conditions of service and incentive packages for teachers should be attractive and motivating enough to induce qualified teachers," it said.
The Committee found that the current ratio of teachers to students which is one teacher to 30 students is not very good. "The ratio should not be more than one teacher to 20 students," the Committee said.
According to the Committee, it is important for the SSS to have the required number of auxiliary staff to help with the smooth running of the various schools.
Auxiliary staff such as laboratory technicians and farm assistants should be given regular in service training and other incentive packages in order to motivate them to improve their efficiency, the Committee further recommended.
The SSS was designed to be a comprehensive system when the education reform started in 1987. It was designed to operate a diversified curriculum, good quality and relevant education for Ghanaians.
To this end the Committee says taking into account recent global developments, certain new subjects such as Information Communication Technology (ICT) and foreign languages should be introduced into the curricula of Senior Secondary Schools. Chemistry and Entrepreneurship should also be introduced into the curricula of Home Economics programme.
The Committee said Government's policy of upgrading one distressed school in every district into a model or well-endowed school is a step in the right direction and action on it should be expedited with the urgency it demands.
"It will help increase access and participation in Senior Secondary School education and reduce the pressure on the few endowed schools," the Committee said.
In addition, facilities such as classrooms, well equipped science laboratories, workshops, libraries, teaching and learning materials should be provided especially in community-based senior secondary schools to attract more students.
Government was urged to encourage individuals and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to provide hostel facilities and canteens for community-based secondary schools to attract increased enrolment.
The education, according to education experts throughout the country reform programme, has not yielded expected results which informed the setting up of the committee.
Problems
Education experts say it has not addressed the old problems which emphasised on grammar and general education to the detriment of technical and vocational education and training.
Currently there are 474 state senior secondary schools as against only 23 state technical and vocational institutes.
The report complained that the administrative structure of vocational and technical training has not been developed and effectively implemented.
"There is also neglect of teacher education to produce teachers to cater for the new system, especially for the technical and vocational education introduced into the mainstream educational system after the reforms."
The committee's findings ties in with empirical study report conducted by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) which said that despite educational reforms in 1987, which was aimed at improving efficiency, quality and relevance of education to the socio-economic development of countries, very little has been achieved.
The ECA study also found school quality increasing initially and declining steadily thereafter. In addition the continental body report found that the average Ghanaian is not an avid reader while students graduating from various levels of education can hardly express themselves in English let alone write good sentences.
The ECA report said a large percentage of Ghanaian children are not able to read newspapers or write letters. They are also unable to use mathematical concepts to solve real life problems.
The last Ghana Living Standards Survey also painted a gloomy picture of the state of education in the country. Although the study was conducted in 1998, observers believe its findings are still valid and should be a guide to the country.
The Survey said only 11 percent of children aged between nine and 14 years are able to read and write a letter. It further revealed that in April 1994, out of 42,000 candidates who took the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations, 3.2 percent or 1,354 qualified to be short-listed for University.
The report also said due to inequity in the distribution of educational facilities among the 10 regions in the country, literacy and enrolment rates are the lowest in the northern regions.
