Once again, Ghanaian basic schools resume without textbooks

Relevant stakeholders in the education sector— Ministry of Education(MoE), Ghana Education Service(GES), National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NaCCA)— jointly discarded the old curriculum for Primary schools and subsequently implemented a new curriculum.

The new curriculum took effect from the 2019/2020 academic year with no textbooks to aid in effective teaching and learning.

Teachers had to resort to abstract teaching while pupils had to equally consume what was being taught by way of imagination. In effect, the new curriculum came with no textbooks, no relevant Teaching and Learning Materials (TLM), deficient training of teachers etc. yet teachers were expected to deliver while pupils were expected to learn effectively.

The end results for the deficient implementation of the new curriculum was that, pupils could not sit for their end of term examination.

Regrettably, officers who were in charge of NaCCA and MoE; Dr Prince Armah and Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh were busily seeking to be Members of Parliament for their respective constituencies. These men in charge of the Education sector had no reason to discharge their duties diligently to ensure the new curriculum serves it purpose, rather they sort to satisfy their personal needs by going to parliament at the expense of the Ghanaian child.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Ghana was hit with coronavirus pandemic. School had to shut down. In March, 2020, the President announced for the closure of schools. Schools have been closed for eleven (11) months— the thinking of every reasonable person would be that, we would take advantage to put in place corrective measures for the next academic year— till date, no proper measures have been outlined to ensure that pupils get to study with appropriate teaching and learning materials.

Government, did not and does not think about the Ghanaian pupils. Elections mattered most. Parents must rise up— call on government to provide textbooks before school resumes on 15th January, 2021.