Our education sector is facing unprecedented challenges with no solutions in sight – Lecturer

A lecturer and psychologist, Samuel Ziggah, has asserted that the education sector under the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is facing unprecedented challenges.

Ziggah said that since this government took over, we have seen several challenges that the government has refused to address.

He tackled the issue of the new curriculum and the failure on the part of the government to release textbooks to enhance teaching and learning in our schools, especially at the basic school level.

He wondered why, for several years, a government that promised to do things differently has thrown the education sector into disarray.

Speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Ziggah also noted that the most famous policy, the free senior high school initiative, is faced with challenges affecting the successful implementation of the policy.

He is worried about the quality of meals served in our secondary schools.

He said there is enough evidence to prove that the sector is challenged, and we have a duty to review the policy.

He noted that the best approach to addressing the crisis is to identify the challenges, address them, and ensure that the policy is better implemented.

On teacher motivation, he urged the government to motivate teachers by addressing the challenges they are facing.

He said should the government fail to address the concerns of teachers, they will continue to strike, and even if they call off their strike action, the quality of work would be poor.

Commenting on the distribution of tablets for students in secondary schools, he said there are teachers without laptops and tablets to even teach, and yet, the government has abandoned them and is distributing tablets to the students.

“If the teacher who is responsible for teaching her students does not have tablets or laptops, then who teaches who?

"Are the students going to hand over their tablets to the teachers? That is the mistake. We have free SHS, and yet, the teachers are not motivated. We do not have textbooks in our schools, so how are the teachers to work or teach?" he said.