Education is the transformation of the whole person through imparting a clear sense of moral rights and duties. It is the bedrock upon which every country thrives. Education is a human right and it is the most important agenda second to none in the world!
Presently, Ghana’s education is highly geared towards examination─ a system which does not engage students fully. As a result, we turn out graduates who cannot deliver the kind of higher level critical thinking needed to address the country’s developmental issues. There is simply no correlation between what is taught at school and what is demanded at work giving rise to graduates becoming more of an economic liability than an asset to the country. To assuage this situation, we need to provide quality education through a well-packaged curriculum and adequate quality teachers who are capable of putting the curriculum through with passion.
We should take a second look at what constitutes the curriculum at all levels of our education and come out with a realistic, comprehensive but feasible one (curriculum) that will meet both the immediate and long-term needs of the country. Planners of our curriculum must focus on problem-solving education rather than the accumulation of facts or the performance of procedures. We must shift from a regimen of rote learning designed to enable students to pass exams to an education designed to encourage real learning and active engagement of the students.
Likewise, we ought to pay close attention to the teacher, on whom implementation of the curriculum is dependent. There is the need to invest heavily in teacher preparation/ development which should be done within the framework of a comprehensive, ongoing, and consistent Teacher Training Programme, and also ensure better conditions of service for teachers.
We also have to promote career education and enhance counselling and monitoring in schools. Classes should be regularly videotaped to allow experienced teachers to mentor less experienced ones and to identify ineffective teachers and provide them with intensive training.
Development means quality education; and quality education means, inter alia, quality curriculum plus quality teaching. Expanding access to education or making education free and compulsory is no guarantee for quality education. Access to affordable quality education is what is critical to the successful development of our beloved country.