A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Communication Team and Assistant Lecturer at the University for Development Studies, Dr. Seidu Fiter, has expressed concern over the challenges facing Ghana’s basic education system.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Deide Tettey, he highlighted the lack of focus on foundational education and its impact on tertiary education.
“We always concentrate much on tertiary-level education rather than the basic level, forgetting that it is the basic level that feeds the tertiary level. Looking at the system and what they produce for the tertiary level is so sad,” Dr. Fiter stated.
He attributed this situation to the rushed implementation of educational policies that eventually backfired. “We rush to implement many policies, and the policies turn to haunt us; then we turn to blame ourselves. Nobody wants to blame the system because they fear being tagged to a political party, but if you fear, you cannot be honest about the situation on the ground.”
Dr. Fiter specifically pointed out the dire conditions in the Northern Region, where a lack of essential resources affects student performance. “Students cannot concentrate, learn, and write examinations to pass if there is no furniture in the classroom and they have to sit at the window to listen to the teacher. A teacher can also not teach properly and examine students if they lack textbooks,” he lamented.
He further criticized the high student-to-teacher ratio, which exceeds the Ghana Education Service (GES) standard of 35 to 1. “Now, at the junior high school level, you can see 90 students in a class to a teacher, which makes assessment very difficult,” he noted.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Deborah Amuzu
