NDC Manifesto: What government has done, will do under Education

The 2016 manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was officially launched by President John Mahama in Sunyani on Saturday.

The 80-page document titled "Changing Lives, Transforming Ghana" was unveiled in a magnificent style at the Sunyani Coronation Park with all the stalwarts of the party present.

This was done some four days after President John Mahama presented highlights of the manifesto at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra.

Under education, the President has promised to appoint a deputy minister who will be in charge of Technical and Vocational education.

The achievements of the government in the last four years in the Educational sector have been outlined in the Manifesto. Also listed are government's commitments from 2017-2021 if given the mandate on December 7.

The following is the full details of the NDC manifesto promises on Education which falls under Putting the People First, one of four thematic areas the manifesto has been divided into.

EDUCATION
We have introduced social interventions in the education sector including the implementation of the progressively free SHS programme, scholarships for over 10,000 Senior High School (SHS) students, free school uniforms, free exercise books and free sandals for school children. We have also expanded the school-feeding programme, thus reducing the direct and indirect cost barriers to parents, and that has allowed for improved attendance rates in our education system. These interventions have allowed the NDC Government to significantly expand access to education at all levels.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS
Basic Education At the basic education level:
• The number of educational institutions at all levels of basic education increased from 45,447 in the 2008/2009 academic year to over 57,270 in the 2014/2015 academic year. This represents an increase of 26%.

• School enrolment increased from 7,038,738 students in the 2008/2009 academic year to 8,891,892, in the 2014/2015 academic year, representing an increase of more than 26%.

• A total of 1,614 out of 2,578 basic school projects have been completed under the removal of Schools-Under-Trees programme, providing brick and mortar shelter for 484,200 pupils.

• The process to eliminate the school-shift system has been highly successful. • One hundred million (100,000,000) free exercise books have been distributed, with free school uniforms also provided to over two million school pupils.

• Twelve million five hundred thousand (12.5million) English, Mathematics and Science textbooks were distributed to public basic schools between 2013 and 2015. This enabled Ghana to exceed the universal textbook-pupil ratio of three textbooks to one pupil.

• The number of pupils benefiting from the School

Feeding Programme quadrupled from about 440,000 in 2008 to 1.7 million in 2014.

• Over 90,000 laptops have been distributed to basic schools in all 10 regions under the Basic School Computerization Programme.

• Under the same Basic School Computerisation Programme, 50,000 basic school teachers across the country benefited from ICT training and supply of free computers.

• Over 40,000 locally produced school sandals have been distributed to pupils in some deprived districts. • The cost of BECE examination fees has been subsidized for all registered candidates in both public and private schools.

• Under the Complementary Basic Education Programme, 125,000 out-of-school pupils have been enrolled.

• A historic Re-sit Policy under which 2,599 under-performed BECE and private candidates were given the opportunity to re-sit the BECE as private candidates was implemented for the first time since the inception of the JSS/JHS system. The programme has since covered two streams.

• Career development training for over 60,000 teachers at the basic level has been provided for, while 1,000 teachers have under-gone in-service training for skills in the teaching of Science and Mathematics. • Existing Colleges of Education have been equipped with requisite Science Laboratories to train 20,000 teachers to improve the teaching of Science and Mathematics in basic schools.

• A gender parity ratio of 1:1 has been attained at the Primary level.

• Over 92,000 girls have benefitted from the Take- Home Ration Programme in the three Northern Regions.

• Scholarships for about 55,000 girls in the JHS have been offered under the Global Partnership for Education Programme.

• The Ghana Reading Action Plan has been implemented and more than 2.8 million pupils at the primary level have benefitted.

Second Cycle Education

In the second cycle education sector we have:
• Commenced construction of 123 out of the planned 200 Community Senior High Schools with ongoing commissioning of completed ones.

• Implemented the Progressively Free Senior High School Programme in line with Article 25 of the 1992 Constitution.

• Initiated a Secondary Education Improvement Programme under which 125 existing Senior High Schools are undergoing facility and quality upgrade.

• Constructed one thousand (1,000) six-unit classroom blocks and over 180 two-storey dormitories in selected 2nd cycle institutions.

• Rehabilitated and equipped five hundred (500) Science Resource Centres in the Senior High Schools across the country.

• Resourced one hundred and seventy-five (175) existing Senior High Schools across the country with modern facilities.

• Built the capacity of 6,500 Mathematics, Science and ICT teachers from some selected Senior High Schools and provided leadership training for heads of Senior High Schools.

• Expanded special subsidies to cover more students in Senior High Schools.

• Provided fifty eight thousand (58,000) bunk beds, fifty thousand (50,000) pieces of furniture, thirty thousand (30,000) computers and three hundred (300) small water projects for selected Senior High Schools.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

We have over the last several years invested heavily in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). We believe we can do even better by streamlining our efforts and creating a stronger linkage between our TVET training and industry.

We must make it a focal point to promote TVET as a means to brighter prospects and employability. We must reverse the concept of TVET as an avenue for school dropouts. We recognize that countries that have well developed technical and vocational education are attracting more global production and thereby generating more employment for their people.

TVET forms a central plank of this administration’s Agenda for Transformation. With TVET, we seek to empower our youth with the skills needed to enter the world of work and create prosperity for themselves and their families.

We have:
• Established a broad-based governance structure including Statutory National Technical Committees with wide stakeholder representation;

• Established National TVET Qualifications Framework (NTVETQF);

• Adopted Competency-Based Training (CBT) model with emphasis on linkage with industry for TVET institutions;

• Established a National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP) to cater for the large informal sector.

We launched the Development of Skills for Industry Project (DSIP) under which we undertook the following activities:

• Awarded bursaries to 1,520 students (including 333 females) who are pursuing science related courses in Polytechnics and Technical Institutes;

• Awarded bursaries to 2,000 apprentices (including 726 females) in the informal sector;

• Trained over 800 Master Craftspersons in Competency-Based Training (CBT) methods of instruction;

• Commenced construction of modern school infrastructure in 13 Technical and Vocational Institutes;

• Sponsored the training of 148 instructors at the Diploma level, 20 instructors at the Masters level and 5 Faculty members at the PhD level;

• Trained over 5,000 Junior High School leavers in garment making, cosmetology, welding and fabrication, auto mechanics and electronics in 70 selected districts nationwide under the National Apprenticeship Programme;

• Trained over 3,500 master craftspersons in capacity building in current industry trends;

• Awarded a total of US$45.4million to 617 formal and informal businesses, Trade Associations and Training Institutions for various skills development and technology acquisition through the Skills Development Fund;

• Provided innovative skills training to over 93,446 workers in the formal and informal sectors.

Tertiary Education We achieved the following:
• Increased the capacities of the tertiary institutions across the country leading to increased enrolments of 7.1% in the Universities and 3.4% in the Polytechnics. Enrolment went up by 63.8% in the 38 public Colleges of Education with the substitution of trainee allowances with the student’s loan scheme;

• Commenced the construction of a 617-bed Teaching Hospital at the University of Ghana, Legon, to support the University of Ghana Medical School;

• Commissioned ICT facilities in the 10 Regional Distance Education Centres to aid Distance Education;

• Established the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in the Brong Ahafo Region and a new and permanent campus for the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in the Volta Region and initiated preparatory works for its School of Pharmacy at Keta;

• Submitted a Bill for the establishment of the National Research Fund to Parliament;

• Parliament passed the Technical Universities Bill to convert Polytechnics into Technical Universities;

• Parliament passed the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) Act;

• Initiated the process to convert GRATIS institutions into Technical Colleges;

• Provided GH¢150 million grant to 654 institutions, businesses and associations through the Skills Development Fund to promote Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET);

• Extended the Students Loans Scheme to cover students in all tertiary institutions and increased the amount;

• Absorbed five private Colleges of Education into Government Colleges of Education in the Northern, Ashanti, Western and Brong Ahafo Regions;

• Offered 1,130 scholarships to students pursuing graduate studies (Ph.D and MSc.) including Medicine and Allied Health Specializations abroad;

• Granted a Presidential Charter to the Central University College.

‘Teacher First Agenda’ We have:
• Passed the Colleges of Education Act, 2012 (Act 847) to upgrade Teacher Training Colleges to Tertiary institutions;

• Abolished the quota system in the Colleges of Education allowing for all 38 public Colleges of Education to admit at full capacity. This has led to an increase in enrollment by 63.8%. Consequently, we are on course to eliminating the trained teacher deficit in schools thereby improving the quality of basic education;

• Reviewed the operations of the Student Loans Trust Fund to allow for teacher trainees to access the fund like their counterparts in the Universities and other Tertiary Institutions. Over 7,100 teacher trainees have so far accessed the Fund;

• Launched the Secondary Education Improvement Programme that has a component for leadership support for Heads of Senior High Schools and special capacity building for 60,000 Mathematics, Science and ICT teachers;

• Provided free laptop computers to over 50,000 teachers since 2013;

• Implemented the T-TEL (Transforming Teacher Education and Learning) initiative that is a capacity and pedagogy improvement programme for Colleges of Education;

• Successfully worked with the teacher unions to reduce teacher absenteeism from 27% in 2012 to 9.3% in 2015 with the view to improving quality and raising further the esteem of the teaching profession.

• Reviewed the operations of the Student Loans Trust Fund to allow for teacher trainees to access the fund like their counterparts in the Universities and other Tertiary Institutions. Over 7,100 teacher trainees have so far accessed the Fund;

• Launched the Secondary Education Improvement Programme that has a component for leadership support for Heads of Senior High Schools and special capacity building for 60,000 Mathematics, Science and ICT teachers;

• Provided free laptop computers to over 50,000 teachers since 2013;

• Implemented the T-TEL (Transforming Teacher Education and Learning) initiative that is a capacity and pedagogy improvement programme for Colleges of Education;

• Successfully worked with the teacher unions to reduce teacher absenteeism from 27% in 2012 to 9.3% in 2015 with the view to improving quality and raising further the esteem of the teaching profession.

OUR COMMITMENT (2017-2021)
Our programme for the 2017-2021 period covers Basic Education (comprising Early Childhood Care and Development, Primary and Junior High Schools); Secondary Education (comprising Senior High Schools, Vocational and Technical Schools) and Tertiary Education (comprising Universities, Polytechnics, Specialized Institutions and Colleges of Education) as dictated by the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

The programme also covers e-learning (including distance learning and open- schooling), non-formal education, the welfare of teachers, the quality of teaching and learning, Science, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and linkages between education and industry. Basic Education: Early Childhood Care and Development We will:

• Strengthen regulation on the establishment of pre-schools to meet the required standards and best practices in early childhood care and development;

• Review and implement the national policy on ‘Early Childhood Care and Development’ and broaden parental participation in the implementation of the policy;

• Strengthen collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Department of Social Welfare in the provision of pre-school and kindergarten education including the training of teachers;

• Continue to allocate more resources for the rehabilitation and construction of kindergarten facilities throughout the country;

• Establish special schools in designated Colleges of Education to train teachers solely for Early Childhood Care and Development.

Primary and Junior High School Education We will:
• Complete the process of eliminating the remaining public schools under trees, and abolish the shift system countrywide;

• Continue the provision of free school uniforms, free exercise books and free footwear for needy pupils;

• Expand the School Feeding Programme to all public basic schools in rural and peri-urban communities;

• Review the Capitation Grant;
• Continue to ensure improvement in Special Needs Education;

• Continue to facilitate the acceleration of ICT education by training more teachers in the subject area;

• Continue the supply of computers to basic schools and establish ICT laboratories for selected schools;

• Work with the Ghana Education Service to re- introduce civic education (including introduction to the Constitution of Ghana) into the basic school curricula;

• Pilot the use of electronic textbooks (e-books) using tablets. Second Cycle Education: Senior High Schools We intend to:

• Complete the construction of the 200 Community Day Senior High Schools;

• Expand the progressively free SHS programme to cover boarding students with emphasis on needy students;

• Review the Computer Selection for Schools Programme to make it more effective and equitable;

• Renovate and expand the facilities in existing Senior High Schools to increase capacity for admitting more qualified JHS graduates;

• Continue to provide facilities for students with learning disability to pursue their educational programmes effectively.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) We will:

• Implement the 2nd phase of the Skills Development Fund to provide grants to over 120 private sector businesses to upgrade skills

and acquire innovative modern technology to enhance their productivity;

• We will encourage more girls to select TVET as a career option

• Improve linkage between TVET and industry
• Increase capacity for technical training, 30% of the new community senior high schools will be fitted with technical workshops and facilities to offer technical and vocational programmes;

• Appoint a deputy minister with primary responsibility for TVET and technical education at all levels;

• Align vocational training properly under the Ministry of Education to enable better supervision;

• Ensure that the new Technical Universities maintain their core mandate of science and technology training;

• Continue the implementation of the Ghana TVET Voucher Project to support the training of 25,000 Master Craftpersons and apprentices in productive skills in the Volta, Greater Accra and Northern Regions;

• Accelerate the agenda to make technical and vocational education attractive for young people to acquire employable skills;

• Rebrand and strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) so that it becomes attractive to high-performing students;

• Continue to equip and retool the TVET institutions with requisite facilities;

• Establish 50 Community Centres for Integrated Skills Development (COCISD).

Pupils and Students with Special Needs • Introduce special incentives at the basic and second cycle levels for all pupils and students with special needs. Tertiary Education We plan to:

• Establish a new College of Education as an Instructor Training College for TVET at Agona Swedru in the Central Region;

• Complete the University of Environment and Sustainable Development at Somanya and its satellite campus at Donkorkrom in the Eastern Region;

• Complete the establishment of three additional Colleges of Education in the under- served regions of Greater Accra, Central and the Northern Regions;

• Continue to implement the Transforming Teacher Education and Learning Programme (T-TEL) to cover professional training for 35,000 teachers in all the Colleges of Education;

• Complete the conversion of the ten (10) Polytechnics into Technical Universities and adequately resource them to ensure the provision of advanced technical, vocational and technological training;

• Support capacity building for Faculty of Technical Universities and the tertiarized Colleges of Education;

• Continue to resource the public tertiary institutions to improve quality and expand the intake of qualified applicants;

• Provide additional facilities to augment the operations of the new Medical Schools of the University of Cape Coast, University for Development Studies and the University of Health and Allied Sciences;

• Initiate a review of medical training in Ghana with the objective of increasing the number of doctors to address the health needs of un- served and under-served parts of Ghana;

• Create an enabling environment for the increased establishment of high-standard private sector Medical Schools, which are well regulated and properly maintained;

• Continue to make allocations from the GETFUND for the training of Faculty members of tertiary institutions and provide scholarships for the training of critical manpower needed to drive Ghana’s transformation agenda;

• Continue to engage and deepen support to private tertiary institutions to deliver on their mandate;

• Continue to extend the Student Loan Scheme to students in all accredited Tertiary Institutions;

• Continue to engage private tertiary institutions to focus training on the human resource requirements of the nation;

• Amend the GETFUND Act to extend support to private tertiary institutions engaged in science and engineering training. Virtual Campus Concept - Distance Learning and Open Schooling We propose to continue supporting the Centre for National Distance Learning and Open- Schooling (CENDLOS) to harmonize open and distance learning activities. Non-Formal Education We intend to:

• Increase support to, and empower the Non- Formal Education Division (NFED) of the Ministry of Education to enable it make the necessary interventions for life-long education in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Number Four;

• Continue to support the implementation of the National Literacy Programme.

Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Development We will:

• Encourage the learning of sign language at various levels of the education system;

• Strengthen the National Teaching Council, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, and the National Inspectorate Board to perform their assigned roles under the Education Act 2008 (Act 778).

‘Teacher First Agenda’
As far as practicable, we will:
• Provide accommodation for teachers who accept postings to deprived rural schools;

• Re-introduce incremental credit for Science, Mathematics, Technical and Vocational Teachers (TVET);

• Continue to issue financial clearance to employ more graduate teachers as and when appropriate;

• Support teachers in science, mathematics and TVET to upgrade their skills;

• Work with GNAT, NAGRAT & CCT on exchange programmes for teachers

• Continue the expansion of the Untrained Teachers Diploma in Basic Education (UTDBE) Programme to further reduce the number of untrained teachers in the school system

Science and Mathematics Education We will:
• Continue to strengthen the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science and provide special support to motivate teachers and pupils;

• Enhance the Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme (MASTESS) to support needy students to opt for mathematics and science based programmes at both secondary and tertiary levels of education;

• Re-introduce incremental credit for Science, Mathematics, Technical and Vocational Teachers;

• Continue to upgrade equipment for the teaching and learning of Science, Technical and Vocational subjects;

• Continue to provide consumables for effective and efficient use of the Science Resource Centres;

• Introduce new strategies for attaining the national objective of 60:40 admission ratio in tertiary institutions in favour of the Sciences.

Linking Education to Industry We will:
• Establish a unit under the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) to coordinate interventions for linking tertiary education to industry;

• Continue to promote collaborative programmes between industry and tertiary institutions to increase opportunities for practical training and internship. Incentives will be provided to industries and businesses that provide more room for internships;

• Continue to review curriculum development of tertiary institutions to meet the skills and human capital needs of industry;

• Support the Ghana Statistical Service to resume the production and publication of the monthly Labour Market Statistics to inform programme choices and accreditation at the tertiary level;

• Continue to make entrepreneurship training a key component of the education system. Education Bills Government has initiated bills that are designed to respond to the changing dynamics in professional education, education sector decentralization, book development, adult education, tertiary education and technical and vocational education. The under-mentioned bills are being processed for enactment: • Chartered Institute of Bankers Bill

• Education Bill
• Library Services Bill
• Ghana Book Development Agency Bill
• Non-Formal Education Agency Bill
• Tertiary Education Research Fund Bill
• National Commission for Tertiary Education Bill

• National Accreditation and Qualifications Agency Bill

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