Time For Real Solutions!!

Sometimes one cannot but just wonder about this dear country of ours! One can only scratch one’s head when one hears some of the pronouncements of our so-called opinion leaders/policy-makers/government officials.

I remember when Harry Sawyerr and his (P)NDC came up with this ‘deboardinization’ policy. The whole idea was to turn boarding schools into day schools. Somehow that would miraculously ensure increased student intake and improved education standards. Forget the fact that in Ghana, efficient and effective road network and the corresponding transportation system is seriously lacking-two important factors needed to implement any meaningful deboardinization policy. What about the all important role that our boarding schools have played towards socio-cultural integration? Harry Sawyerr and his bunch could care less-once the ‘thought’ or ‘idea’ occurs to them then it must be implemented. Thank God it never saw the light of day, but I hear there are some in this present government who are seeking to revisit that policy. Some of these initiatives may look innocent enough but at the core is this ‘socialist’ thinking that we are all equal and we should all do things the same.

It was the same ‘irrational’ and ‘illogical’ thinking that led to the one-uniform policy of the Rawlings government. Students in private schools look too nice and decent in their colourful and well-designed uniforms. Their counterparts in the public school system have to contend with the Khaki khaki. This disparity or call it whatever you want, according to the NDC, must be the cause of the differences in performance and achievement between the two groups. The NDC’s solution? Make a policy where all schools use the same uniform. After all are we not all equal? Shouldn’t we all be wearing the same things?

Of course there was an ulterior motive as well: whoever imported those materials got his/her 10%. I hear that was Nana Konadu. Anyway, has anybody out there seen duller colours than those initially introduced by the Rawlings government and the NDC? Incredible!!

Choice and diversity! That is the natural order. Nature loves diversity and choice.

Why is this so difficult for the NDC and its lackeys to understand this simple natural order?

Now here comes another ‘bright and smart’ idea from the honourable former Ambassador to Togo. On the question of how to achieve quality education in the country, he is reported to have suggested the merging of public and private schools. Mr. Anaglate further stated that the existence of private Junior High Schools alongside the public Schools was not healthy for quality education. Wow!! Private schools are the reason public schools are in a mess? Surely Mr. Anaglate can do better than this. His other stated reason is that most parents cannot afford the fees being charged in private schools. What if parents can afford the fees? Should we then do away with public schools so we all send our kids to private schools? So it is the expensive fees being charged by private schools that are responsible for their high quality? Let me get this straight: If I want to build or establish an excellent quality high-achieving school, all I have to do is charge expensive fees and voila!! Is that all there is to it? Was this man really the DG of GBC?? And for how many years?

Apparently, quality education has nothing to do with availability of excellent and dedicated teachers who are also highly motivated; nothing to do with infrastructure fit for human habitation to creating a congenial learning atmosphere?

He again noted that about 75% of University admissions were from Private JHS, thereby building a class society. A class society? Really? Does Mr. Anaglate have children? Can he tell us which of them attended a Public School? Which of our Ministers went to Private School when they were little? In their time nobody even talked of Private School. Even if the Public School was in a village somewhere, the standards were good enough to take students from rural communities into schools like Achimota, Prempeh and Mfantsipim. Why is the situation not the same or even better now? Can Mr. Anaglate please address this question? We have a Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, Education Units of the various religious institutions and many other allied institutions; What do these institutions have to show for themselves? How is it even possible that a whole District is unable to produce a single student to have passed BECE and qualified for SHS?

Why can’t we ensure quality education for our children? Do we need the British to come back to do that for us? Didn’t Nkrumah insist that we are capable of managing our own affairs?

And by the way, which path would Mr. Anaglate prefer the nation to take? Should we go all Private Schools or should we turn all the Private Schools into Public Schools? How does he intend to deal with the educational disparity and do away with the class society he talked about?

Why can’t the government, with all the resources at its disposal, run schools successfully? What is so difficult about that? How come private individuals do better with their limited resources?

I think the difference is due to attitudes of the two entities: the Private individual runs his/her School as a profit-making business whilst the government runs its Schools as a Charity without any care at all as to how the products turn out. Of course in order to make profit the private individual needs to turn out excellent products and that motivation makes all the difference. Yes I know there would be those who would come up with this same age-old argument about cost and affordability. The government is using our money-the taxpayers’ money. The government can still run excellent schools without excessive and exorbitant fees. We need to cut waste from the government. And we also need to do away with certain policies, even though they seem politically expedient. Why should the government provide free school uniforms? This in addition to feeding the school children for free!! Are we ever going to ask the parents-the very people who brought these children into this world- to be responsible? Would we ever hold the parents accountable? These same parents manage to buy funeral cloths for every funeral in town but cannot buy uniforms for their children to go to school, for free?

Another reason why the government is doing such a poor job with our Public Schools is because of the attitude and mentality of the Ghanaian people themselves. What is the general attitude of a government worker towards government job? Do we work as hard in our government jobs as we do in our private sector jobs? I believe it’s time the government institutes a hire-and-fire policy. The government should be able to fire unproductive, incompetent and lazy workers; without the Labour Unions rushing to the courts. If there are no consequences for poor performance or non-performance, how do we ensure excellent performance at all? Don’t the teachers train at the same training institutions? Ho w come those in the private sector, seemingly, perform better than those employed by the government?

Are these not the issues that the government, and the so-called policy makers, should be concerned about? And to Mr. Anaglate, wouldn’t the provision of solutions to these issues ensure quality education instead of turning all schools into government schools?

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Submitted on November 13, 2009