WILL THE NDC-4 ADMINISTRATION RETOGRESS TO THE 'COST EFFECTIVENESS AND RECOVERY' ELEMENT OF THE 1987 EDUCATIONAL REFORM?

In this piece, efforts are made to consider the current behavior of the NDC-3 & 4 regime and try to refresh our memory of what was done in 1987 educational review that has been proven to be a disaster to education in this country. Mincing no words, I will state that 'there is fire on the mountain' as far as pre-tertiary education in the country is concerned.

To help my readers, especially laymen, I will go to history and remind ourselves of the education in this country and the reforms as well as its attendant effects.

Now, readers will find from the table that, the New Educational Reform of 1987 instituted an anti-development agenda to education. Nowhere in the world can you improve education by freezing teaching staff and teachers. In any case, where were the technical teachers?

As you can see, the polytechnics in Ghana are now turning to its original place. I mean the British who were teaching us never prescribed pure technical education. For those who have idea of philosophy know that, 'anything that exists in the world is the handiwork of the mind'. In fact, it is NOT the handiwork of the HAND. It is erroneous to think that inventors were technical people, as we know, a lot of inventors of technology are people who have sat down to think for many years, and out of the mind has translated them into handiwork. Just take a business man for instance; his success is not from the strength of his handiworks, but rather the strengths of his mental capacity.

I state that there will be nothing like technical and vocational education. All inventions comes from the mind and skills in handiworks itself comes from long deliberations of the mind. That is why the Europeans are powerful, for them, they need people who can think and come out with solutions, as for labourers or technical men, they are always there to carry out ideas of the wise thinker.

Now, let us see, the New Education Reform thinks reducing the number of teaching staff will improve education. So wicked and ridiculous! With daily increment in the population of Ghanaians, any policy that seeks to reduce the number of teachers does not have the country at heart. No single policy has done that, with reference to the table above.

Now, similar things are happening in NDC 3 & 4 government of Late Prof. Mills as well as the current John Mahama administration. There are indications that the government is seeking to reduce the number of teaching staff in our pre-tertiary educational system.

In 2009, a policy of freezing the recruitment teachers was introduced and since then teachers were recruited only after a teacher goes for pension. Now, there are thousands trained teachers from the University of Cape Coast and University of Education who are still unemployed. We are day-in-day-out placed in propaganda of removing school under trees and school feeding and all that, but the fact remains that there are so many schools in the country where there are no teachers. And the number increase daily.

Significantly, the reduction of 4-year SHS to 3years only on propaganda is going to produce its mess as the WASCE results this year will come to testify. When that happens, you will then see these politicians pointing accusing fingers on the innocent teacher.

What am saying is that, until politicians leave the abrupt and reckless attack on education in this country, we will remain at the same position. In all this, their children do not have their education in this country. Most of them have sent their children abroad and they will come back only to rule over the poor again, which present a clear case of 'greediness and selfishness'.

I will end by entreating the re-framers of our constitution to band the executive arm of the government from persistent attack on pre-tertiary education in this country and make education ministry somehow autonomous to serve the people of this country.

FRANCIS MIKE ESHUN,
P.O. BOX 54
PRESTEA.
[email protected]