This article was first published in 2011. It has been reposted due to its relevance today.
The Member of Parliament for Techiman North, Professor Christopher Ameyaw Ekumfi has called on government to consider channeling resources intended for the Heritage fund into revamping the country’s educational sector.
According to him, the country can only create a transformational economy if it has a solid manpower base which will come from the educational sector hence the need for the sector to be revamped.
Speaking on Multi TV’s political talk show, Minority Caucus, Prof. Ameyaw Ekumfi reiterated calls by the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party [NPP] to put teachers first in the scheme of national affairs.
He opined that despite the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure [SSSS], outstanding allowances and other packages should be arranged for teachers especially those who are posted to the remote areas of Ghana adding that teachers are at the crust of the education sector and as such providing them with such incentives will motivate them to be committed and dedicated to their work.
“Nana is saying that let’s expand the training colleges, make sure that all those professionals who have been trained are attracted back into the system. And even the non professionals who sit out there can be given some short training sessions to make them professional teachers and provided the price is right, you will be sure they will all come back to the profession” he said.
Commenting on Nana Addo’s policy on free education from the basic to Senior High School [SHS] level, the one-time education Minister under the erstwhile NPP administration explained that Nana Addo’s focus is on improving basic education especially at the SHS level because “at the end of JHS they are so young, the training is inadequate, even the knowledge base is so low so why don’t we make it possible for every child to have secondary education so kindergarten to secondary education becomes our basic, basic in the sense that everybody is going to have the opportunity to go that far.”
Prof. Ameyaw Ekumfi however dismissed suggestions that funding for the free SHS policy as proposed by the NPP’s flag bearer will be a major problem for the party should it win the 2012 polls.
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