Stop Playing With Our Educational System – GNAPS Advises Politicians

The Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) has frowned upon the manner in which politicians manipulate the educational system in the country. The Association also described the frequent policy changes by politicians towards the educational system as a serious canker which is reducing the standard of education in the country.

The President of the (GNAPS) Mr. Godwin Sowah, addressing the media at a press conference held in Accra to herald the upcoming Annual Private Schools week celebrations, noted that Ghana was credited with the best system of Education on the continent, in terms of quality Education. “Today the converse is true and we have lost face in international academic circles-the word Ghanaian no longer attracts attention” he said.

According to Mr. Sowah, in spite of the numerous Education Reform Packages put in place by successive governments, the country has still lost sight of the tremendous importance of Basic Education and rather neglecting and toying with the foundation. “Politicians have been quick to make political promises with Education, particularly with infrastructural increases to lure constituencies and communities.”

He said Education service itself failed to establish correlations-like corresponding increases in logistics- supply for teachers, equitable distributions of teachers of text books and inadequate Inspectors of schools. “It appears that the politicians are only interested in what the voters can see and count.”

He added that “Today we have thousands of children in Basic Schools who cannot read or write yet they will be presented to the WAEC to write BECE. It is apparent that they will fail but even if they fail they will still enter secondary and technical-Vocational Schools. From there, they will enter our Polytechnics and Universities, through special admissions programmes of our tertiary institutions.

The Vice- president of the Association Mr. Steve Revss, on the other hand stressed the need for having a single blueprint on education which would not be changed frequently by any government that comes on power. He said by doing so, it will go a long way to better the educational system in the country.