Colour or nature of school uniforms insignificant in rebranding public basic education – Prof. K.T Oduro

A Professor of Educational Leadership at the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) at the University of Cape Coast has said that considering the factors that adversely affect the imagery of basic public schools in Ghana, the colour or nature of school uniforms contributes insignificantly.

While acknowledging the strategic impact branding and rebranding initiatives have on products, Prof. G.K.T. Oduro, in his comparative analysis, quizzed if the colour or nature of uniforms worn by pupils of public basic schools is the primary reason for the poor performances in literacy and numeracy as compared to private schools.

The University of Cambridge scholar wondered if the Ministry of Education's decision to prioritize school uniforms in its rebranding agenda was informed by competitor analysis to determine factors that contribute to the higher performance of private basic schools against the lower performance of public basic schools in the country.

"I wonder if the Ministry of Education's decision to prioritize school uniforms in its rebranding agenda was informed by competitor analysis to determine factors that contribute to the higher performance of private basic schools against the lower performance of public basic schools in the country. If the Ministry had paid attention to competitor analysis, it would not have placed primacy on school uniforms," he said.

The former Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast asserted that if the Ministry had paid attention to competitor analysis, it would have prioritized any of the stakeholder concerns relating to the over 8,000 primary schools operating under trees, the late release of capitation and feeding grants, insufficient infrastructure, inadequate textbooks, and many others, which tend to affect the image of public schools in the country.

"It would have prioritized any of the stakeholder concerns relating to the over 8,000 primary schools operating under trees, the late release of capitation and feeding grants, insufficient infrastructure, inadequate textbooks, inadequate teaching & learning resources (TLRs), little or no support for children with learning difficulties, inadequately equipped ICT laboratories, and many others that tend to affect the image of public schools in the country," he added.

Prof. Oduro raised concerns about the minimal budgetary allocation for public basic education, with available statistics suggesting that, in 2023, only 4% of the education budget was committed to primary education.

He further hinted that, no matter how beautiful the colour of the new uniforms is or how stylish they look, if the requisite human and material resources to support quality teaching and learning are absent, the low image of basic public education will remain a policy challenge.

He charged the Ministry of Education to rethink its prioritization of new school uniforms for public basic education.

Prof. Oduro said that without rethinking the initiative, the motivation will be more of a legacy than a rebranding agenda.