Letter to Auntie Betty (3) A myriad of problems

Dear Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, since we in Ghana appear to have outlawed the word 'problem', I should perhaps have used the word 'challenges.'

No matter, because, whether you prefer challenges to problems or not, it is not going to be a smooth ride for you at the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Education is a key Ministry. The educational policies formulated by the Government of the day will determine whether we can move forward as a nation, or remain backward. Without well-formulated policies, where will be the personnel needed for good governance, industry, commerce, education, good health, etc?

Madam, no one should pretend that everything is fine with our education. In fact, I could spend the rest of the year writing these 'letters' to you about the problems bedeviling our education today.

Let me talk of manpower. Perhaps, I should use the word 'personnel' so that I do not offend the sensibilities of the gender activists or feminists who may see me as a male chauvinist pig.

At all levels, from the nursery to the post-tertiary level, there is an acute shortage of qualified staff. The pre-school level (the nursery and kindergarten) is where the foundation is.

How many of those handling these little children are qualified for the work they do? In any case, are there even enough of them?

To me, the basic level, from Primary One to the Junior High School, is where the real action should be, with qualitatively and quantitatively adequate staff.

Unfortunately, the tragic story, told and enacted many times on television, radio and in the newspapers, tells of school pupils without teachers, such that one teacher is forced to combine two unrelated classes in one room.

At one time, we were told that the basic level alone needed 17,000 (Seventeen thousand) teachers. Today, we still have pupil (that is, untrained) teachers teaching at the basic level.

Out there, we cannot doubt that there are very good teachers, educationally and professionally well prepared for the task, devoted, and ever-ready to go the extra mile.

But, can we say the same of others, who seem to have blundered into the teaching profession because they had nowhere else to go, and are doing more harm than good to pupils under their care? No wonder that after six years of Primary School, and three years of Junior High School, some candidates for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) are unable to write their own names. That is the Gospel truth!!!

If a large number of Senior High School students fail the final examination, we should not overlook the lack of adequate preparation at the basic level.

The problem of lack of teachers can also be found at the Senior High School level. While a school, usually in the cities and big towns, may have the full complement of teaching staff, a school in a non-urban area may not be so lucky. But, even with the 'lucky' school, not all the teachers may be professionally qualified.

What is the story at our state universities? Even though they have formally retired at age 60, a number of university teachers are still teaching on contract.

It is not that these teachers are deliberately shutting those who want to come in and teach. It is simply that not many people want the job. The financial rewards and the socially glamorous jobs are elsewhere.

Think of the physical and psychological strain on retired teachers having to deal with large classes and to mark hundreds of scripts. Yet, without them, things could be worse. The hard reality, however, is that they must eventually retire again, due to very old age. Where are their immediate replacements?

Of course, teachers by themselves cannot produce the expected results, no matter how academically, professionally, and temperamentally qualified they are for the job.

Teachers can achieve results when, in addition to their own skills and experience, they have the tools of their trade to work with.

Again and again, we hear complaints of lack of adequate textbooks, well-stocked libraries of books, a well-stocked computer library, exercise books for pupils, well-equipped science laboratories, and even chalk.

Madam, there is no doubt that you will be attending Speech and Prize-Giving Day ceremonies as part of your job.

After the Senior Prefect and the Headmaster/Headmistress have extolled the achievements of the school, you will also hear a litany of complaints about the lack of this and the lack of that facility: assembly hall, dining hall, school vehicle, classroom and dormitory accommodation, etc. the complaints will come from even the so-called well-endowed schools.

If basic schools in the public system also had their speech days, and you attended one of them in a village, you would see the dilapidation that passes for a classroom block; crumbling swish buildings with hardly any roof, classes under trees, classes abruptly ending because of rainfall, lack of an office for the headteacher, not to talk of a common room for staff.

Madam, you will not even have to go far, because Accra itself, will present a sorry spectacle of the deplorable conditions some teachers, their heads, and pupils have to work under.

Madam, you must have heard of complaints by captains of industry, commerce, and education about the inability of products coming from our educational institutions to express themselves proficiently in speech and writing.

I know that the ability to use English well is not necessarily a mark of intelligence. However, whether we like it or not, English is our official language until we can find a local alternative we can all agree upon.

If we cannot use English well, it should be a matter of concern to all of us, as teachers, doctors, accountants, lawyers, bankers, media people, etc.

The general agreement is that we all need to do something about what many of us see as a drastic fall in the standard of education in the country.

Yes, many of our pupils and students continue to shine academically, no matter the perceived difficulties. But, we should also be concerned about the large number of pupils and students who fall by the wayside, because of economic deprivation or unsatisfactory conditions in our schools.

Madam, you certainly have a problem on your hands. Welcome.