Research report on quality education

Gomoa Ankamu (C/R), April 20, GNA- Mr Joe Kingsley Hackman, Member of Parliament for Gomoa West Constituency on Friday called on Ghanaians to stop the blame game but rather accept responsibility to help develop quality education in the country.

He said quality delivery of education should not be seen as a responsibility of government but parents and teachers must ensure that teaching and learning was done in a conducive atmosphere with the needed facilities.

Mr Hackman said this when a research team presented their finding on the falling standard of education in that district as part of the Global Action Week to discuss issues affecting education at all levels. The research carried out under the auspices of the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition was to bring out the reasons for the poor performance among 15 schools that undertook the BECE last year. He noted that the time had come for students to target people as role models whom they looked out to, in the quest for a better future and called on them to spending all their time watching movies and outings which did not help their academic work.

Mr. Hackman called on the educational authorities within the district to eschew the culture of fear but rather stand up to present their needs anytime for the appropriate authorities to take the necessary action.

He attributed the fallen standard of education to lack of reading among students and noted that he was constructing libraries in eight selected schools in the area at the cost of 600 million cedis each to facilitate reading habit among students.

Dr. Yaw Ofosu Kusi, Head of the Social Studies Department of the University of Education, Winneba, who presented the findings noted that inadequate teaching and learning materials was the major cause low standards, coupled with neglect of parental responsibility. The findings carried out covered 186 teachers from 50 schools from six circuits within the district- Potsin, Dawwuropong, Eshiem, Apam, Afransi and Ojobi- showed a shortage of text books, inadequate supply of professional teachers and dilapidated school structure, which did not encourage learning.

The rest included lack of community and parental support to education, lack of recreational centres, child labour with funerals and other festivities in the area playing a detrimental role. Dr Kusi added that the school Feeding programme however had increased enrolment considerably.

The findings again showed that the schools lacked science kits and workshops for practical application of what was taught in the classrooms whiles teachers do not have access to reference material for further studies.

Dr. Kusi therefore, called on parents and guardians to be mindful of their primary responsibility for ensuring that their children attain quality education.

He said more teachers needed to be trained, especially pupil teachers to raise their resource base, adding that, lack of motivation of teachers was a factor in the decline in education standards in the area.

" It will be difficult to retain trained teachers in the rural areas without proper motivation," he stressed.

Dr Kusi further called on the government and stakeholders in education to come to the aid of the area by providing mobile libraries in the various schools.

Ms Rosemond Blay, Regional Director of Education, whose speech was read on her behalf noted that in the rapidly changing and unstable world, education was the only way to a life's success. "Education should be linked with sustainable development which requires fresh impetus to bridge the gap between boys and girls". She called on the students to take their education seriously as it was the only to avert poverty. 20 April 07