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09.10.2015 Opinion

Education For The Rich

By Daily Guide
Education For The Rich
09.10.2015 LISTEN

The irony of life is sometimes the fact that those 'who had their palm kernel cracked by their chi' make it impossible for others to even have access to palm kernels even if they would have to crack them with their teeth. Ghana's educational system had been one of the most liberal since independence. The great Osagyefo saw formal education as the key to developing a confident people and a proud nation. Educational policies and programmes were universal even though they were not universally accessible because of the absence of infrastructure in many rural and distant communities in this country.

The Missionaries, in their mission of 'catching them young' had penetrated many communities particularly the cities, towns, urban communities and some villages and established schools, predominantly Primary Schools. Middle Schools as at the time were few, serving a cluster of communities at a time. Existing Secondary Schools were primarily Mission Schools. The Osagyefo increased both Primary and Middle Schools across the country in addition to the establishment of scores of Secondary Schools as well as Teacher Training Colleges. This is a well -known history, I should not bore my readers with.

Even though education throughout to the Secondary Schools were not entirely free as has been put out there over the years, with the exception of an affirmative action by the government to offer free education for the northern part of the country, there were conscious efforts to make it much more easier for the critical middle level manpower training needs of the nation to be developed. More schools required more teachers just as more health facilities required more health workers, at least, the supporting staff.

My generation and the generations before me made it possible for the poor to have post- Middle School education in the educational and the health sectors. Holders of Middle School Leaving Certificates wrote a Teacher Training College Entrance Exams and once they passed, they were offered admissions and the rest fell on the state. The same happened to those who were trained as Nurses then. The truth however is that overtime, entry qualifications into the above discussed training institutions have changed because of changing needs and situations  that may be difficult for the state to offer such freebies to the trainees as existed years back. No debate.

However, if in our quest to cut down on government finances to these institutions, we make it extremely difficult for the younger ones to acquire middle level skills so much needed in our daily lives, we would be shutting the doors to the majority of the poor, particularly in these difficult times; then this nation is treading on dangerous paths towards self- destruction. Just look at the fees below for new entrants this academic year to Nursing and Teacher Training Institutions.

NURSING COLLEGE                FEE                                COLLEGE OF EDUCATION                                            FEE

  1. Library           45.00                            Registration                                              180.00
  2. General Maintenance    70.00                             Academic/Training                                  313.00
  3. Computer Maintenance  60.00                            Residence                                                108.00
  4. Course Registration         30.00                           TEXT BOOKS
  5. Sports/ Entertainment     30.00                          Maths 1&2                                                   11.60
  6. Field/Clinical Assessment 80.00                          African Writers Series                                40.00
  7. Educational Visits              30.00                         ICT                                                                   25.00
  8. Semester Exams               50.00                          Window of Hope Training Manual            5.80
  9. Feeding (Semester)         600.00                         1992 Constitution of Ghana                       8.00
  10. Utilities                            200.00                         College Hymnal                                             8.00
  11. User Fees                           80.00                         Internet Fee                                                30.00
  12. Development Levy        170.00                          Endowment Fee (Demonstration Sch)   20.00
  13. University Affiliation     100.00                         Generator/Mower maintenance/fee      20.00
  14. Programme AccreditationChaplaincy                                                    20.00

(NMC)                              50.00                           Clinic Maintenance                                    20.00

  1. Accommodation              100.00                       Uniforms                                                      250.00
  2. SRC Dues                             30.00                        House Jerseys                                                29.00
  3. Transport for Commuting 60.00                         Track Suit                                                      58.00
  4. NAB Accreditation             50.00                        Cardigan/Vest                                                48.00
  5. Admission Fees                   80.00                       Feeding Fees (to be refunded by Govt.) 504.00
  6. Matriculation      50.00                        There are books recommended for purchase
  7. Handbook                            20.00                     DLM's Manual for Trainees, Trends in Education
  8. Student ID/ Name Tag       30.00                     Syllabus for Primary/ JHS etc
  9. Indexing                                40.00                     Hall dues                                                        100.00
  10. NMC Clinical Study Book   15.00                     SRC Dues                                                          15.00
  11. Logistics Support                 500.00                 College Field Levy                                            50.00
  12. Bond Form                            10.00                   2 Domestic wares (Females)                         90.00
  13. NMC Rules/Regulations      20.00                   Exams Registration Fee to UCC                  300.00
  14. Cohetti Project                      30.00
  15. Special Project Levy              30.00
  16. Text Books                            445.00
  17. Uniforms                                320.00
  18. House Dress                           170.00
  19. Medical Exams                      100.00
  20. Clinical Items                          130.00

35.Hepatitis B Screening/Dosage 100.00

  1. Track Suit                                      70.00

TOTAL                               GHC3995.00                                                                            GHC2293.40

The fees above are exclusive of the items parents are to buy for the students for their personal use in school. How many parents can afford these in addition to responsibilities towards other children. The poor are being shut out of education particularly the middle level professions.

ATTENTION: NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY
Below is published unedited:
From Operations 1 Million Votes In The Ashanti Region. All NDC Members Should Observe The Following: It is clear that the Electoral Commission will do new voters register for next year's elections, and as a team we need to redraw our plans by doing everything possible to get the one million vote.

  1. The NPP is doing everything possible to get the new voter register because they knew where we got over 878,140 votes for the President during 2012 and this was confirmed during the bye election held last month so let all of us come together as a party and work hard.
  2. No NDC member should panic over the new voters register because the people who appeared on the voters register will still go and register by USING THEIR CURRENT ID CARD WHICH MEANS THE SAME PEOPLE WILL GO AND REGISTER AGAIN unless the NPP realizes this and finds solution to it. So there is hope for more operations.
  3. From today 3rdAugust up to April next year when the EC will start the registration, every NDC member should try to register not less than 500 people or youth at the ages of 16 going for birth certificate but on the certificate it should be 18 across the country, it can be used during registration. Do it before schools reopen. THE NEC HAS PROMISED TO AWARD ANYONE WHO CAN REGISTER 500 YOUTH WITH 5000 GHANA CEDIS. PLEASE THIS INFORMATION IS SERIOUS DON'T GIVE IT OUT TO ANYONE NOT EVEN THE ASHANTI REGIONAL MINISTER. JM 2016.

The above unedited information from the NDC to their foot soldiers is a loud and clear sign of what the NDC is doing. In 2012, when the NHIA began issuing free NHIS cards freely to the so-called poor people, we did not question or follow up to monitor their intentions. They ended up issuing the NHIA cards to unqualified people who had their names in the register and voted eventually.

Once again, they have for an unexplained reasons, started issuing out Birth Certificates to people who may not be qualified to register to use the Birth Certificates as an acceptable IDs to get their names on the register for 2016 as per the message above. We are aware of what is going on and yet we are quiet, not challenging the unusual but curious magnanimity of the BIRTH AND DEATH REGISTRY for all of a sudden waking up to do what I am not sure is an obligated responsibility. And even if it is, why now? Is it not so easy to get the Death and Birth Registry to station their staff across the borders to issue out Birth Certificates to foreigners who would cross into Ghana and register when fresh registration for election 2016 opens?

These are part of the tricks the NDC uses to steal the elections from us, when they begin, we do not care until they have achieved their aim.  Why would they not; because instead of reading their minds and building up our own strategies, we dissipate our energies and times on needless internal bickering and what seems to be a deliberate effort by some party leaders to see us in opposition come 2016. This I believe is the tip of the iceberg of planned rigging beginning from the registration. We can afford to engage in useless internal bickering to instead of keeping our eyes on the opponents. We will have no one to blame the next time.

This is information I gathered from Daavi's kiosk when I took my three shots and bought two shots for the informant.

[email protected]
By Kwesi Biney

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