NaCCA organises CCP Training for GNACOPS master trainers

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), an agency of the Ministry of Education mandated to develop Curriculum and to ensure its effective implementation, has collaborated with the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) to train selected Master Trainers to enable them effectively train teachers in all private schools across the nation.

It may be recalled that NaCCA, as part of their mandate, recently developed a Common Core Programme (CCP) Curriculum for Basic 7 – Basic 10 (JHS 1 to SHS 1) to be implemented from the 9th Week of the 2020/2021 Academic year in all JHSs.

The purpose of the training, which is a prerequisite for every teacher in Ghana both public and private, is to expose the over 200 participants to the National Pre-Tertiary Curriculum Framework (NPCF), The Concept of the Common Core Programme, the National Pre-Tertiary Assessment Framework (NPLAF), Professional Learning Community, Introduction to the CCP Curriculum, Features and use of the Teacher Resource Pack (TRP) and Learner Resource Pack (TRP) in the CCP, Yearly and Termly Scheme of Learning, Lesson Planning Format and Phases of Lesson in CCP Curriculum, Assessment in the CCP Curriculum, Barriers to Learning CCP Curriculum, Use of Creative Pedagogies, Lesson Planning Demonstrations, PLC Simulations, and Fidelity of Implementation.

This all-important training is happening at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Haatso, in the Greater Accra Region from Monday, 18th – Friday, 22nd January 2021. The Master Trainers are being trained in their respective CCP learning areas.

On Day 2 of the training, the Acting Director-General of NaCCA, Mr John Mensah Anang, together with National Officers of GNACOPS interacted with participants. Mr Anang congratulated participants for availing themselves to be trained especially when the whole world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. He was particularly excited when he observed that all COVID-19 protocols are being observed.

He reminded participants that the CCP Curriculum has carefully been designed to give Ghanaian youths the competitive edge to take their places in the global economy. He expressed the hope that the CCP Curriculum will play an effective role in national development since Education is key.

Bringing his words of encouragement to an end, the Acting Director-General, urged all participants to focus on continuous learning and personal development re-echoing that the five-day training will not be enough to fully equip participants on every aspect of the CCP Curriculum. He inspired them to find innovative ways to sustain their self-learning. Overall, Mr Anang spurred participants on to go out to train teachers in all private schools.

The following GNACOPS national officers were part of the team that met the participants: Steve Revss (Chairman, GNACOPS National Board, Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah (Executive Director), Dr Mantey Jectey-Nyarko (Research and Training). Prince Entsie (Human Resource), Ps. Lawson Wurapa (Logistics/Data Management), Samuel Adjei Nyamekye (Communication), and Esther Quist Wood (Administration/Finance).

Enoch Gyetuah, Executive Director of GNACOPS explained that the objectives of the current training are to deepen the existing collaborative relationship between GNACOPS and NaCCA, help participants to understand the relevance and the need to change from the Objective Based Curriculum to the Standard Based curriculum as well as to help participants understand the content of the CCP Curriculum.

He was also of the view that it is time the Private schools in Ghana augments the efforts of the government to build an effective educational system and by extension the future of the Ghanaian child, by building the capacity of its teachers and developing a solid human resource base. He believes that this can only be possible if GNACOPS deepens its collaborative relationship with the various agencies of the Ministry of Education.

The Master Trainers, who have actively been updating teachers with the latest research in Education, have carefully been selected from all over the country. He hoped that the National Curriculum Training Facilitators, provided by NaCCA will help participants to understand the CCP Curriculum.

According to him, just after the Master Training by NaCCA, a selection of the certified Master Trainers, from the various learning areas would be sent to Asamankese in the Eastern Region to train four hundred and fifty (450) participants as a simulation exercise to broaden their understanding about the CCP.

Going forward, Mr Gyetuah indicated that after the Simulation workshop, The nationwide training of all the teachers in the private schools in Ghana, scheduled to take place at a convenient time considering COVID-19 data, will take place in one hundred and eighty (180) training centres created across the country. GNACOPS, hope to train about 25,470 teachers on the CCP curriculum. These teachers will be certified and authorised to implement the CCP in private schools.

Concluding his presentation, Mr Gyetuah said that GNACOPS aims to build a database of participants, which will help facilitate the Continuous Professional Development portfolio of their members.

Participants on their part expressed their readiness to learn and equip themselves with the concept of the CCP and to an effective fidelity of implementation in all private schools throughout Ghana.