Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Education Minister
Tomorrow’s generation has become purblind to the realities that lie in wait regarding the future of their education. The persistent situation of poor performance has pelted these students into the muddy waters of educational myopia ― their future has become blurry ― they can hardly foretell what tomorrow holds for them. Fate has made it unfeasible for some basic students to reap the full benefit of education notwithstanding the colourful and resounding essence of education that has been artistically engraved on the walls of history.
“To learn something is the only thing that never fails ― you may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. The only one thing for it then is to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” T.H. White, The Once and Future King.
Before delving into the causes, effects and solutions to this crisis of poor performance of our basic students, first, come with me as I take you into the life of Elizabeth a JHS leaver who was never able to continue her education due to this same predicament.
In my quest to find out more regarding the JHS dropout crisis, I spoke to Elizabeth who actually wants to be known as just Elizabeth in the media circles. According to her, right from infancy, it has been her desire to be a top class fashion designer. She had wanted to do that through school and finally crown it with a Masters in Fashion from a renowned university in Paris.
But for her, this dream has remained an ephemeral delusion that has not yet been realised. She only hopes that one day she will have the chance to make amends to embrace the dreams and aspiration she has always wished for. She recounted that before she sat for the BECE, she made all the necessary effort towards her studies just to ensure that she comes out with flying colours.
Unfortunately for Elizabeth, her family background was one that had been struck down for many years with acute poverty. The poor condition they lived in was so harsh that they could hardly afford even 2 meals a day. All she hoped for was to perform exceedingly well in her exams such that she could get a scholarship through her SHS education.
She said, although her results were not what she expected, it was not too bad to get her a school but tried as she did, she did not get the opportunity of gaining admission to SHS. She however blamed the situation not only on her results but also on the poverty that plagued her family. “If only SHS was free, am sure I would have had the chance to enter an SHS”.
Eleven years down the line, she has found herself learning to be a seamstress. Amazingly, even a decade has not been able to make Elizabeth relinquish her desire to further her education. According to her, she had made plans to mobilise some money to return back to school. “I will never give up on my education. Although things did not go the way I wanted, I know that God does everything for a reason. Hopefully, I will go back to SHS before the end of this year although I am 25 years now. And I know that I will be able to attain the height I have always wished for in my education.”
Out there in the taters of educational shatter are more people with similar stories like that of Elizabeth. Now I ask again; what exactly could have gone wrong in our educational system? Can this problem ever be remedied? And even if we have the remedy what will be the pragmatic steps to ensure that the remedy is rightfully administered to ensure a hundred fold returns?
One menace that has been plaguing our educational system for decades has been the unrest within teacher groups and unions which usually results in protracted strikes. Recently, a group of Teachers calling itself Coalition of Concerned Teachers accused the current Government of being anti-Teacher. The angry Teachers say the Mahama Administration has been implementing anti-Teacher policies since it took Office in 2012. The teachers also say they are disappointed with Education Minister, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, for failing to fight for the interest of Teachers.
Few days ago, vehicular and pedestrian movements in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, were impeded when angry teachers hit the streets to demonstrate against government’s refusal to address their concerns. Hundreds of aggrieved members of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), wearing red bands, marched through the principal streets of the city, amid the singing of war songs. The aggrieved teachers decided to hit the streets in their numbers over pressing issues such as the poor handling of the second-tier pension scheme of Ghana Education Service (GES) workers. The action of the teachers followed a nationwide general strike declared by the leaderships of the two groups.
I do not harbour an iota of pessimism in assuming that the casus belie in relation to this crisis is the teacher’s poor condition of service which insights them towards protracted strikes. This has further metamorphosed into absenteeism, lateness and lack of motivation in imparting the next generation with the requisite knowledge to aid their saunter across the slippery fields of ignorance. Like the saying goes, “when two elephants engage in a brawl, it is the innocent grass that suffers.” Likewise, when teachers and government engage in an everlasting scuffle over conditions of service, it is the students who suffer the repercussions.
Government has to put measures in place to ensure that the teacher is indeed successfully catered for regarding their conditions of service and whatever is due them. For their part, students have to always ensure that they attend classes regularly and also be extremely serious, putting in much efforts to be successful in their exams. Remember, achieving success on the examination platform is a two way affair ― nothing good comes easy.
I will also proffer the institution of measures to check the performance of teachers using the carrots and sticks method as their major motivational tool. The principle is; do a good job and get a carrot (positive reinforcement) or a shoddy job to receive a stick (negative reinforcement).
Let us not forget that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ― Nelson Mandela. We can thus, through education, change Ghana for the better.