Next NDC government will comprehensively reset educational system— Mahama

"The next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to be formed in 2025 will comprehensively reset our educational system in collaboration with all stakeholders.

“Our goal is to aggressively expand infrastructure, enhance teacher welfare and professional development, and increase investments in the sector for quality outcomes,” Mr. John Dramani Mahama, the NDC Presidential Candidate who occupies the 8th position on the presidential ballot paper, stated in the party’s 2024 manifesto, captioned “Resetting Ghana: Jobs, Accountability, and Prosperity.”

Former President Mahama will introduce the ‘Bright Beginnings Initiative’ to revive and repurpose early childhood education for the well-being of Ghanaian children and facilitate seamless integration into continuous schooling and lifelong learning.

NDC Presidential Candidate stated in the party’s 2024 manifesto on the sub-theme “investing in people for inclusive growth.”

“We will initiate a policy to integrate early childhood education into basic education supported by appropriate infrastructure and establish a Department for Early Childhood Development under the Ministry of Education with a special mandate to promote early childhood education.

“We will initiate a National Edu-Care Programme (NEP) to establish early child learning facilities in workspaces to support working parents and establish Ghana Pre-schools Online (GPO) to enhance literacy and numeracy education for nursery and kindergarten children using multimedia tools.

“We will review early childhood curricula to develop a national value-based curriculum that enhances the psychomotor skills of children and equips children with basic life skills; significantly improve the pupil-to-textbook ratio; and invest in comprehensive professional development programmes for early childhood educators,” he said.

The Presidential Candidate stressed that the next Mahama administration will institutionalise and promote the use of first languages (L1) as the medium of teaching and learning in early years’ education and care.

“We will incorporate indigenous knowledge, traditions, and stories into teaching and learning materials to make learning more meaningful for children; promote the creation of digital content of supplementary early childhood learning materials; and facilitate the introduction of courses in tertiary institutions to train early childhood facilitators.

“We commit to achieving the full objective of free compulsory universal basic education (FCUBE) by prioritising investments in basic education to expand access and improve quality.

“We will initiate a ‘SmartStart Curriculum" for greater integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), Coding, Digital Literacy, and TVET into the basic education curricula and launch a ‘Furniture for All Initiative’ to address the acute deficit at the basic level in partnership with the local carpentry and furniture industry,” former President Mahama stated.

The NDC 2024 Presidential Candidate said the next government will significantly improve the pupil-to-textbook ratio through the provision of curriculum-based textbooks and embark on an aggressive infrastructure drive to address the increasing phenomenon of schools under trees and rehabilitate dilapidated school buildings.

He said, “We will increase and ensure regular payment of capitation and feeding grants; promote digital literacy at the basic level by providing computer facilities installed with digitised learning materials; and upgrade ICT laboratories; and promote solar energy as the primary energy source for school facilities.

“We will partner with industry and digital experts to provide voluntary service as visiting teachers to impart practical ICT knowledge and skills in schools and review curricula and assessment systems to prioritize skills acquisition and value-based education for the holistic development of each child.

“We will review the capitation grant to address existing challenges in low-cost private schools in rural and inner-city communities and reinstate and promote the continuous teaching of indigenous languages at the basic school level to support cognitive development, foster cultural sensitivity, social cohesion, and the transfer of cultural heritage.”

President Mahama, who is a devoted member of the Assemblies of God Church, said his next government, formed in 2025, will enhance the implementation of the First Language Lessons policy by providing scholarships to incentivise the training of more Ghanaian language teachers, especially in languages that have insufficient teachers.

“My next government will restructure and mandate the Bureau of Ghanaian Languages (BGL) to standardise the development of Ghanaian languages in collaboration with Ghanaian language faculties of tertiary institutions.

“We will promote scholarship and research in Ghanaian language development; encourage the speaking of the Ghanaian languages; promote digital content creation of first language curricula, including animations, to provide auxiliary learning materials and enhance comprehension of lessons,” he said.