Author: Peter Partey Anti

COVID-19 and the Education Sector in Ghana: A Brief Analysis.

Peter Partey Anti

By Peter Anti Partey (IFEST – Ghana)

 

Education is a merit good. Countries spend huge sums of their revenue on education. Research abound on the impact of education in relation to poverty alleviation. Empirically, education is the mechanism that is used to transform economies. It is therefore not surprising that most countries in the developing world are seriously pursuing the knowledge economy agenda. This scientifically explains the numerous interventions that governments over the years have made in the Ghanaian education sector. Paramount among them is the introduction of the Free Senior High School policy which sought to open access to thousands of students who would genuinely not have had access to secondary education due to financial constraints.

 

Though lots seem to have been carried out in the education sector, the advent of COVID-19 seems to have revealed some endemic problems in our educational system. The closure of schools in the country has affected close to 10 million students at all levels of the education ladder. To mitigate the impact of the closure of schools and ensure continuity in learning coupled with prior experience from previous pandemics in other countries, government through the Ministry of Education rolled out different forms of interventions. These include providing free online library services, online learning platform (icampusgh.com) and virtual learning being aired on various television and radio station in the country. Again, the Ministry has facilitated the zero-rating of most educational platforms for most of the tertiary institutions in the country. This intervention is meant to ensure that the cost of data does not serve as a hindrance to any student who would want to access online education in Ghana. These interventions are all geared towards the objective of ensure that, academic work is carried out during the period of the pandemic.

 

Despite these efforts by the Ministry, our development trajectory has made it practically impossible for all students to benefit fully from these interventions. This is because, the extent of digital divide in the country is so huge that, even the provision of zero-rated online educational platforms will mean nothing to majority of students who do not have access to any electronic device to benefit fully from this intervention. Also, most students and teachers are not technologically savvy to be able to utilize these platforms fully. This brings to the fore the concern that, as a people we have a penchant for policy sloganeering instead of policy robustness. A country with an ICT policy in education which also rolled out a policy of “one laptop per child” between 2009 and 2012 should not be struggling to reach the masses of students when it matters most. But characteristically of us, we politicized the distribution of the laptops and did not pursue the policy after some time. Consequently, in 2020, most of our students in sub-urban and rural Ghana are finding it difficult to join their colleagues to access various e-learning platforms.

 

Again, until recent developments, our educational system had been built solely on examinations. The 9 or 12 years of education of the child meant nothing if he/she fails the Basic Education Certificate Examination or the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) respectively. This mode of assessment has created a dilemma, I dare say, in the minds of all relevant stakeholders as to the way forward for our students since we are at the end of the academic year and students would still have to progress to the next level of their educational journey. Globally, three models have been adopted by various countries depending on their unique circumstances to circumvent the issue of school examination and progression during this period. These models are: Cancellation of examinations, Postponement of examinations and Reviewing of the examination format. Countries that philosophically place much emphasis on the total educational journey of the student have resorted mostly to Models 1 and 3 (Cancellation of examination and Reviewing of examination format). For instance, in Norway, examinations have been cancelled for students in both junior high and high school. This was made possible since written exams forms only 20% of the final grading of the student. In Northern India, students from grades 1 – 8 will be progress to the next level without any examination. In the USA, SAT has been cancelled leading to the review of the admission criteria for entering the universities whereas emphasis has been placed on the students’ course work and other relevant modalities.

 

In Ghana however, there is still uncertainty as to the way forward since we have adopted model 2. The question is; “for how long would these examinations be postponed?” It is true that, WASSCE is a sub-regional examination and hence a determination would have to be made by the examination body, however, one would want to ask, what proposals have the government and the Ministry in charge of education made to the relevant authorities as to the unique way we would want to handle this in our education sector. Clarity and a clear cut roadmap with feasible timelines would help students, parents and all relevant stakeholders plan accordingly (this should be carried out bearing in mind the challenges of the school placement process and various timelines in our educational system). There have been proposals to aggregate the 30% school-based assessment used by WAEC for grading students. I must say that, this proposal by all standards, violate the principles of assessment as espoused by experts because of issues of standardization, reliability, validity, clarity, significance etc. which mostly might lead to under-prediction of grades especially for students of disadvantaged backgrounds.

 

The proposal would therefore be to adopt Model 3 and review the examination format for BECE candidates focusing on the core subjects and resorting to an online examination well-structured to meet the needs of all candidates. Their scores coupled with the assessment from their schools can be used to place them for their secondary education. This can easily be done since the principal focus of that examination is for placement. For those writing WASSCE, the principal objective of that certificate is continuation to tertiary institutions. It will therefore be prudent for the universities to review their admission process and introduce an entrance examination for those who would want to continue their education. The certificate can be awarded when issues normalize for all students after they have sat for that comprehensive examination. The advantage will be that, students will be ready for the next level of their education and would not have to wait for their certificates. These are proposed to ensure that, the already distorted academic calendar does not exacerbate.

 

For tertiary education, the surest way is for the various tertiary institutions to revamp their online education platforms and reach their students who are residential and non-residential. The Ed-tech take off propelled by COVID-19 should be embraced by our institutions of higher learning. The Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) should be thinking of providing additional support to students to enable them own the digital devices needed for their learning. The proposal is to open up a request form for students who would need such digital devices (android phones, laptop, etc.) to apply for and be supplied with, as part of their student loan.

 

The educational sector is hit also from the front of the private schools’ setup. Most private schools have not been able to pay their staff and some have even resort to downsizing and termination of appointment of teachers. Recently, the private schools professional body appealed to government to assist them with a stimulus package to enable them meet their recurrent expenditure. Though this is a call in good faith, adherence to it is likely to open the flood gate for all others in the private sector to also seek for support from the already tight government revenue. It is therefore advocated that, government should facilitate so that these private schools can access financial support from both local and international institutions on the basis of their ability to repay within a reasonable timeframe. I would also appeal to parents who still owe fees to redeem themselves. One way that these private schools can continue to ask for an agreed school fees from parents would be to find ways of engaging the students online. This even though not novel, would help them come to some agreement for an amount to be paid for such services rendered.

 

Change is difficult. However, when the opportunity presents itself, authorities should gladly take advantage of the circumstances and effect the needed change. This is the time to redefine education in Ghana. We have lagged in our quest to use technology in our educational system. While most educational institutions globally were quickly switching to their various online platforms to enable them continue to deliver education to their students, we are yet to fully achieve same. A call to our policy makers to be guided by the principles of equity and fairness in rolling out policies bearing in mind the level of disparities in our society should never be in vain after life return to normalcy. Our social support systems are weak and that is what might lead to our total destruction and not a pandemic.

Source of the article: Equipo de Ove

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Save the Teaching Profession: A Clarion Call / By Peter Anti Partey (IFEST, Ghana) (03)

Peter Partey Anti

Save the Teaching Profession: A Clarion Call

By Peter Anti Partey (IFEST, Ghana)

Every year, the world celebrates the teaching profession on the 5th of October. Since its inception in 1994,each year’s celebration comes with a theme that seems to bring to the fore the emerging issuesin the profession forglobal discussion. For instance, in 2018, the theme was “the right to education means the right to a qualified teacher”. This theme was to remind the global community that the achievement of the right to education and education for all hinges on the availability and provision of trained and qualified teachers.

This year, the global community has been called to reexamine the future of the teaching profession in the light of increasing levels of attrition and the perceived unattractiveness to the younger generation. The theme, “Young teachers: the future of the profession” is a clarion call on the younger generation to choose teaching as their profession and contribute their quota in delivering quality education to the populace.

The aptness of this theme cannot be overemphasized, especially in Ghana. Research has shown that most young people in Ghana would not select teaching as their first career and even when they find themselves in the teaching field, it is mostly seen as transitory employment since they will gladly jump onto a “better” profession when the opportunity presents itself. In my interaction with teacher-trainees over the years, I have observed a complete change in their mood when there is a mention of their status as being trained as teachers. Some will burst into prolong laughter while others show a demeanor depicting a completedisapproval.

 

The fact is, through our actions and inactions, we have made the teaching profession unappealing to the younger generation. The historical antecedents of the teaching profession in Ghana reveals a profession that has lost its place of honour in the society. The veneration and esteem that accompanied the profession in the past seems to have been gnarled through society’s overall outlook. This seems to validate the cynicismof the public towards a probable restoration of the dignity of the profession.

The call by the global community to the younger generation to pursue teaching as a career and placing the young teacher in an enviable position as holding the keys to the future of the profession can only materialize in countries like Ghana when there is a deliberate attempt to attract and retain the younger generation. This is a decision that must be taken immediately by the relevant stakeholders to safeguard the future of the profession.

 

Issues relating to the profession should treated with all the urgency needed. In most instances, authorities are lackadaisical when concerns of teachers are brought to their attention. This contributes to the waning positive image of the profession. To attract and maintain young teachers, matters relating to them should be dealt withearnestly. Remuneration and other incentive packages for the teacher should reflect the crucial nature of the profession. Young teachers should be able to plan their lives properly with their decent salary while being assured of a decent pension upon retirement. Other incentive packages such as loans with lower interest rates, housing schemes, vehicle schemes should be a necessary component of the teaching profession and should be available to all but not a few.

 

One of the challenging issues for the young teacher is promotion. In many instances, movement up the professional ladder after all requirements have been met becomes a big hurdle to surmount. This with its associated bureaucracy continuous to be a traumatic issue for the young teacher. There is little or no opportunity for professional development and it becomes worse when that young teacher finds himself/herself in rural Ghana. The inadequacy of teaching and learning resources and the seemingly lack of support from parents and the community in the quest to deliver education to the child contributeto the attrition rate of young teachers. Efforts should be made to address these challenges to secure the future of the teaching profession in Ghana.

 

Whereas much needs to be done by the relevant authorities to restore the image of the profession, one cannot ignore the general attitude of the teacher. Teachers have to desist from actions that bring the image of the profession to disrepute. There should be total adherence to the code of conduct of the profession and efforts must be made to support and uphold the teacher licensing scheme that have been implemented by the National Teaching Council. It is important to control the entry procedure into the profession and this can be achieved by upholding high standards in the admission of students into our university colleges of education as well as the various faculties of education in the country. The reform agenda by the Ministry of Education for teacher education in Ghana should be supported by the teacher unions and other relevant stakeholders to guarantee that, the best will be admitted into the profession.

 

Teaching is both an art and a science. This implies that one needs to combine the natural flair of content delivery with pedagogy to be able to succeed in any instructional session. It therefore requires people with the highest intellect and impeccable moral standards to deliver qualityeducation to the student. This places the teacher on a higher pedestal in the league of professions. As the world marks another Teachers’ Day, the clarion call is to end:

  • the practice of admitting the academically weak students into the colleges of education;
  • the frustrations the newly trained teacher goes through to get posted to a school and received their first salary;
  • the easy entry and exit into the teaching profession
  • the difficulty associated with moving up the professional ladder;
  • the seemingly lack of regard to the views and contributions of teachers in relation to issues in their professional field;
  • the apparently lack of attention and motivation to the rural young teacher

These and the other numerous challenges have rendered the teaching profession unattractive to the younger generation. The future of this country and the desire to move the economy from where it is to a knowledge and technological economy rest on the shoulders of the young teacher. Let’s entice and maintain them in the profession. This is my clarion call to all stakeholders in the education sector.

The writer is an education economist, researcher and curriculum expert and currently the Acting Executive Director of the Institute of Education Studies (IFEST), an education think tank in Ghana.

Autor: Peter Anti Partey

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The economics of teacher licensing: The case of Ghana

Peter Partey Anti

By Peter Partey Anti

“It was found that while teachers saw themselves as professionals, they did not think that teaching in Ghana qualified as a full-fledged profession. This apparent ‘paradox of contradiction’ is vital knowledge for understanding individual actions by teachers and their attitude to collective actions by teacher organisations such as the Ghana National Association of Teachers and the National Association of Graduate Teachers” (Cobbold, 2015).

The challenge of professional identity that has bedeviled the teaching profession in Ghana seems to be one of the basis for the setting up of the National Teaching Council (NTC) under the Education Act 778. According to Act 778, the NTC shall be responsible for the licensing, registration and employment of teachers. Act 778 was passed in 2008 and therefore it’s been almost ten (10) since the passing into law the need to license and register teachers. It is therefore refreshing that the council is putting measures in place to start a national teacher’s licensing regime. It must be indicated that, teacher licensing is not something new in the educational sector worldwide. In most advanced countries, it is difficult to secure a teaching job both in the public and the private sector without possessing the requisite teaching license. It is important to specify that, possessing a degree in education does not automatically make one a teacher in most advanced countries. Comparing it to the law and medical professions, the teacher is supposed to possess a license that qualifies him to teach in any educational institution. Even though, some sections of civil society including IFEST have had issues with the licensing process adopted, there is a general consensus on the need to start a teacher licensing regime in Ghana.

The decision by the NTC and by extension the Ministry of Education to pursue a licensing regime for Ghanaian teachers, to me, is purely an economic decision. It is an economic decision that will go a long way to impact the teaching profession positively and soar the teachers’ reputation and standards in the labour market. The provision and hiring of teachers in every labour market lends itself to the forces of demand and supply with the government being the largest employer. This means that, most professions enter into working contracts with government spearheaded by their professional organisations or associations. In the teacher front, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Concerned Teachers Association etc are some of the teacher unions which supply teacher labour to government and therefore bargain with government on behalf of their members.

However, at any point in time, certain factors will determine the demand for teachers. These include the number of schools, the number of students enrolled in schools, policies pertaining to curriculum and teacher-pupil ratios, prior commitments to employed teachers, educational agencies funding capacity, and the prices that must be paid for various types and quality of teachers among others. Preferably, the demand for a teacher by the government (Ministry of Education) should be specified by the attributes of teachers desired, especially teacher qualifications which comprises their training, degree level, licensure, and experience. That is, practically, wage differentials would be informed by the specific attributes of the teachers demanded by the employer.

In every labour market, the forces of demand and supply interplay to fix the market wage and in instances where demand for the services of a particular profession exceeds the supply of the people ready, licensed and qualified to provide that service, there is an upsurge in the market value of such profession. This is one of the determining factors for the kind of remuneration paid in the labour market. For example, a shortage in the supply of licensed teachers would ideally lead to improvement in the remuneration for licensed teacher, ceteris paribus, rendering them “hot cake” in the labour market. This suggests that, licensing teachers is supposed to impact on their market value because it is supposed to regulate the level of entry into the profession. That is, one cannot hold himself/herself out as a teacher without going through the requisite licensing process and a group of teachers with the requisite qualification and duly licensed by the NTC should have a higher market value in the labour market as compared to those who have not been licensed, ceteris paribus.

This notion is engrained in the concept of signaling in information economics. Signaling is the idea that a person (prospective employee) credibly conveys some information about himself/herself to another person (prospective employer). It is a known fact that the teacher labour market cuts across both the private and the public sectors. In the public sector, a union of licensed teachers conveys a stronger signal to the prospective employer than a union of unlicensed teachers. In the private sector, a licensed teacher conveys an additional information to the prospective employer on his/her level of professionalism which will enable him/her to bargain effectively his/her remuneration as compared to an unlicensed teacher. This scenario is what plays out with the categorization of teachers into trained and untrained or professional and unprofessional but licensing takes it up a notch higher.

The fact is, according to Spence (1973), when employers are faced with information asymmetry and uncertainty, they tend to turn to statistical reasoning and to rely on easily observable signals, that are expected to provide reliable information on the true quality of candidates. Using the job signaling model allows an employer to make clear predictions in relation to the choices that he/she will make in the context of uncertainty. Since the 1970s, a large number of empirical studies have shown that signaling plays an immensely important role in recruiting. This explains the need for a teacher to have a professional license to be able to distinguish himself/herself from others who “pretend” to be teachers in the labour market.

This is the more reason why teachers in Ghana should welcome the licensing regime and ride on its positive impact to professionalise teaching in Ghana. When fully operational, a teacher licensing regime in Ghana will help regulate the entry and exit processes in the profession, maintain a high standard of professionalism which will translate into delivery of quality teaching during instructional sessions and also lead to a positive surge in the public perception of the profession. A perfect signal for bargaining in the labour market.

The teaching profession over the years has served as a stepping stone for most people in the labour market. The Bachelor of Education programme has also served as an avenue for people to gain admission into tertiary institutions who have no intention of pursuing a teaching career at the end of the day. These people have found themselves in other professions after graduation. There have been others who do not have a Bachelor’s degree in Education but find themselves in the classroom teaching. This identity crisis of the teaching profession has had a tremendous impact on the market value of the profession. Introducing a teacher licensing regime is one major step to soaring up the market value of the teacher and a further step to professionalise the profession.

Finally, it is imperative for the teachers in the country to own this policy, they should work hand-in-hand with the National Teaching Council to implement this policy effectively. It is my fervent wish that, in the not too distant future, the National Teaching Council will be an autonomous institution to enable it function effectively and efficiently. For me as an education economist and an education policy analyst, I can predict a far better prospect for teachers with licenses in the near future.Bottom of Form

*Artículo enviado por el autor a OVE

*Fuente de la noticia: https://tipseducacion.com/archives/202

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61 years of education in Ghana

Peter Partey Anti

By Peter Partey Anti

Last Sunday was the maiden show of a news program on GhOne TV hosted by Nana Aba Anamoah. Normally our media houses do not have very rich current affairs programs for their viewers on Sundays, so this program caught my attention right from the start.

The truth, however, is that, during the headlines, I heard the term “belly schooling”, a term I was hearing for the first time in education literature, so I decided to listen to what the story was about. That story broke my heart. Pupils in a school in Yikurugu in the Northen part of Ghana lie on their stomach to study. This is happening in an educational institution in Ghana in the year 2018.

Again, recently a picture of a teacher trying to teach ICT, specifically, the interface of Microsoft word went viral on social media. That picture has been featured in international media reports like the CNN, BBC among others. While some were happy for the school and the teacher, others like myself felt bad for what our educational system has turned out to be. And yes, this is Ghana in 2018.

A country that prides itself as the first country sub of the Sahara to gain independence. A country that has spent between 22% – 27% of its annual budget on education over the last decade; a country that is 61 years today. Growth theorists are vocal about the role of human capital and technology in a country’s long-term growth potential and not just any human capital, but an educated one. It is therefore not surprising that, 61 years ago today, there was a huge focus on education by the leaders at that time.

The address of the President, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah to the legislative assembly a day before independence had education as its pivot; the driving force of the country’s development agenda. He envisioned an educational system that is designed to address the challenges we faced as a country. A critical read of McWilliam and Kwamena-Poh reveal that the focus of the then President was to use education to answer the questions of technology, productivity and the economic potential of the country.

This explains the level of investment made by him in the education sector. It is therefore not surprising that between 1951 and 1966, primary schools increased by 647.8%, secondary schools increased by 707.7% whiles one university was added to the already existing two universities. This coupled with other levels of education such as teacher training colleges, technical and middle levels all saw a tremendous improvement. To most experts, education was geared towards solving the Ghanaian problem. Since then there have been changes in our educational agenda, prominent among them are the 1987 and 2007 educational reforms.

These two reforms in particular even though properly conceived were implemented in a way that made it impossible for us to realize its full benefits. The introduction of the JSS and SSS to replace the old system of O’Level and A’Level have been one of the defects of the 1987 Educational Reform according to some educationists. In fact, some have attributed the challenges in our educational system presently in terms of its structure and content to this reform. To others, the two systems should have been allowed to run concurrently.

As someone who is a product of the 1987 educational reform, I will not be quick to pass a judgement on it but to say that, a critical study of the reform brings to fore the good intentions of the policymakers but the problem of resources and lack of commitment to the implementation process led to the non-realization of objectives of that reform.

About five years ago, I had the opportunity to do a comprehensive review of the 2007 educational reform for an international organization. My observation was simple, we ignored the important elements in that reform and focused on the change of name and duration.

That reform was rich in its plans for Technical, Vocational and Agricultural Education agenda and the attempt to incorporate apprenticeship into our educational system. Sadly, we focused on the duration of either 3 or 4 years and the change of name from JSS and SSS to JHS and SHS respectively. The usual problem of fidelity in the implementation of the reform made sure that the objectives of the reform were not met entirely.

From the last 25 years, we have been able to increase access to education for a number of children in the basic level courtesy the introduction Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) in 1996 and the Capitation Grant in the 2004/2005 academic year. We are seeking to increase access to students at the secondary school level with the introduction of the free SHS.

Sixty-one years after the take off in the educational sector, supported with the fact that, other countries with a robust educational sector have been able to transform their economy, it would have been ideal to see a transformed Ghana championed by an education system designed to address the challenges of our time.

Sadly, we are currently faced with graduate unemployment. What it means is that we are investing in education and yet the products of our educational system cannot be absorbed by the economy. The reasons for these are enormous but if in 1957, the focus was to use education to solve the problems of technology, productivity and how to harness the economic potential of the country, why have we not made progress?

The answer lies in the nature of our curriculum. As indicated earlier on, increasing access to education, investing in education and undertaking various reforms in the education sector should be geared towards addressing the challenges of the time and not be seen as a normal routine.

I am not oblivious to the fact that, currently there is a process ongoing to reform the curriculum for the pre-tertiary level and also teacher education in Ghana. How many of you are aware of this? I can only hope and believe that all the relevant stakeholders are involved in this process.

Aside from this, there is an increasing level of inequality between the urban student and his/her counterpart in the rural area. We continue to roll-out wholesale educational policies without paying attention to the disparities that exist in our society. A visit to most of the schools in rural Ghana will give you an indication of what we need to do as a country in terms of policy formulation in the education sector. How can we introduce ICT into the school curriculum and yet a majority of our schools in the rural areas lack just a computer?

How can we roll-out a policy called “One laptop per child” and yet most of those laptops were given to party members and sympathizers. What is the state of that policy now? Where are the laptops? Why should a child lie on his stomach to enjoy an instructional session when our leaders ride in expensive cars and jump from one radio station to another to lamenting about the problems that they have been elected and are being paid to solve.

This should not be misconstrued to mean we have not done anything as country in terms of education. We have improved access, we have expanded infrastructure and have increased our spending in the education sector. But the end product has been an increase in the level of youth unemployment, sanitation problems, increase in corruption, and an upsurge in crime, a total decline in the moral fabric of our society and reduction in patriotism.

According to Prof Agyemang, a renowned sociologist, education is a process by which each society influences its individuals by passing onto them the culture which is the totality of the society’s accumulated knowledge, art, laws, morals and ways of behaviour, the acquisition of which brings the individuals to the perfection of their nature. A good educational system should yield more positive fruits than negative but can we say this about our educational system, 61 years on?

So yes, this is Ghana’s education after 61 years, when you log on to social media and you come across videos and comments seeking to question the importance of learning osmosis, diffusion, quadratic equations among others, do not be dismayed, that is the system we have created. We have failed to establish relevance or what in Quality Teaching Model, we call, Significance. We love students who can reproduce verbatim what we presented to them during the instructional session.

We have paid lots of attention to examination than to learning. Our educational policies have sought to put students in school but not help students to learn. I once came across this distorted quote on social media “Education is key, but they have changed the lock”. This seems funny but it tells us the perception of people about our educational system after 61 years of independence.

We have to get it right, we will get it right, left us not be populace in our educational policies, let us avoid the wholesale educational policies and let us make sure that, each child in the country receives quality education irrespective of where he/she is. Education remains the key to lifting us from poverty to prosperity, let us get it right.

Source of the article: https://www.myjoyonline.com/opinion/2018/March-9th/61-years-of-education-in-ghana.php

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