Women In Defense Of Education Bemoans Falling Standard Of Education In Ghana

The alarmingly shocking rate at which Ghana's educational standards have been moving downhill has been an acute headache to many a stakeholder whose interest is to see a greater percentage of Ghana's population acquiring formal education. Though a cherished dream, the rather parallel results being realized from our students in some specific fields leave a great deal to be desired. Whilst we commend the inputs of successive governments in ensuring that a higher number of Ghanaians get educated.

we must also be blunt to point out that a lot more needs to be done. Of a major concern to Ghanaians is the poorest of performance of students in the secondary school level in the field of English language.

Women in Defence of Education (WIDE), after a cursory look at the factors culminating in these greater numbers of failures in English language has come out with the following factors as the causative agents for these mass failures:

First and foremost, the inconsistency with which our politicians have been visiting the duration of our academic calendar with is a huge setback for a sound performance in any field of study, least of all, English language. The NDC and NPP have turned the number of years students are to complete the curriculum designed for schools into a political football.

These three years/four years/three years drama hardly ensure any meaningful outcomes in our educational programmes. There is enough evidence to prove that the four year system far outclasses the three year system. The performance of students in the four year system was far better than those who had the misfortune of passing through the three year system. WIDE insists that we revert to the four yea duration.

Moreover, a research we have conducted gives ample credence to the mass failures we have been experiencing in English language in the senior high schools. We were filled with inexpressible horror to come to be exposed to the fact that more than half of the handlers of English language in our senior high schools are square pegs in round holes, for want of a better expression. Though they might have read one form of language or the other at the university, only a fraction of them actually did specialize in English language.

We don't achieve success in this field with majority of the teachers having challenges themselves in English language. Government must, as a matter of urgency, take steps to rectify this rather avoidable anomaly to ensure that skilled handlers teach our students English language in our schools.

WIDE would be dwelling in a world filled with stark darkness if the role played by social media in ensuring our students' poor performance in English language is overlooked. Modernity has its own challenges, and as a result of this, a generation is likely to be impacted positively or adversely by what goes on.

However, the negative effects of WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, etc have been phenomenal! Students tend to love spending inordinately longer hours on these platforms than reading their books. Stringent measures

must be put in place in our campuses to limit the number of hours students seem to waste on social media. Mobile phones usage on campuses should be restricted, if not abolished completely.

Mention must also be made of the fact thatmost of these mass failures usually come from schools considered to be less-endowed. Their underwhelming performance in the field of English language can be attributed to lack of extrinsic motivation to teachers posted to these schools, which are largely scattered in small towns. If teachers posted to such places are accorded preferential treatments, the desire to give out their all will always be there, impacting positively on the performance of students in the long run.

WIDE cannot bring its concerns to a conclusion without harping on the need to make reading highly attractive to students in these institutions. Debates, spelling bees, etc, should feature prominently in our academic calendar to inculcate in students the zen to read even when they are not under any form of compulsion. Attractive prizes should be awarded to deserving students in such games or endeavours.

Painstaking investigations conducted by Women in Defence of Education have also revealed that teaching learning materials which form part of the prerequisites for effective teaching and learning in our schools are being denied handlers of English language in our schools. This trend must be discontinued so as to improve the overall performance of students in this field of study.

In effect, Women in Defence of Education calls on the Ministry of Education , Ghana Education Service,civil society groups , parents, students and other stakeholders in education to treat these findings and prognosis as matters of priority to ensure that the downhill trend in terms of students' performance in English language is reversed.

We will end here with this quote from the former President of the United States John F. Kennedy

"Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation"

God bless our homeland Ghana!!!

Signed:

Kate Pratt (secretary)

Paulina Annoh(PRO)

026 147 0349

CC:

Hilda Baning-Darko (President)

0209379202

Ama Darkwaa Baning (Organiser)

Agnes Kwarteng (Treasurer)