Educational Review would ensure dynamism in education - Bawa

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government's decision to review the country's educational programme is to strengthen the capacity of the system to respond to emerging trends, challenges and objectives.

The government also intends to move with purposefulness, pragmatism and dynamism to widen opportunities for access and participation of all, especially, girls in education.

Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Rashid Bawa, announced this at the speech and prize-giving day of the Tema Secondary School (TEMASCO) to climax its 40th anniversary celebrations at Tema at the weekend.

In attendance were old students, diplomats and dignitaries including Dr F. K. Buah, a renowned historian and first headmaster of the school, who unveiled his own bust erected by the 1976 year group, at the school's administration block to commemorate the anniversary.

Mr Bawa said under the review, government would give real meaning to vocational and technical education, improve the capacity of polytechnics to assume their proper roles in the training and production of requisite manpower for rapid socio-economic advancement.

The Ministry of Education had introduced new training programme dubbed, the "In-In-Out" for teacher training colleges as part of measures to ensure quality education in schools.

Under the programme, the teacher training colleges would provide two-year college based training and a one-year off-campus practice for students geared toward ensuring that children were well taught in schools.

Mr Bawa said mentors would support teacher trainees, who would be provided with distance learning materials during the "OUT" period of the programme, while communities were expected to support them, particularly, with accommodation when they were in the field.

It is also expected that District Oversight Committee would assist in monitoring the activities of these young ones to help them focus on the work.

Dr Roderick Pullen, the British High Commissioner in Ghana, who was the Guest of Honour, said the Department for International Development (DFID), was supporting the government's Education Sector Strategic Plan with 50 million pounds (about 500 billion cedis).

Out of this, 21 million pounds (210 billion cedis) had been spent so far. DFID no longer provided funding directly to individual schools or undertook specific projects in the education sector because it wanted government itself to be in the lead on educational matters and be responsible for the management of the programme.

Dr Pullen said, this year, the DFID was providing 2.8 billion pounds world wide, of which Ghana was receiving the biggest chunk of 65 million pounds, making Ghana, UK's largest bilateral development partner.

Dr Buah said his vision that a past student of the school should become the headmaster had been realised with the appointment of Mrs Eunice Quansah.  He expressed the hope that Dr Kwame Nkrumah's vision of establishing the school to become a first class one had been attained.

Mrs Quansah, Headmistress, who recounted the history and achievements of the school over the last 40 years in academics and sports, said the school had set for itself a new vision to build upon its achievements.

These included staff training and motivation programmes to enhance productivity and the education of the wider community on maters of health and nutrition and HIV/AIDS.

TEMASCO, which begun in 1961 with 52 students, now has a student population of 1,557, made up of 723 boys and 834 girls.

The school honoured Master Robert Armah Ashitey, a business student who scored grade "A" in six subjects and grade "B" in two subjects in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE), as the best student for the year 2000.

Master Richard Danso, a science student, also won the prize for "best all round student" for this year.

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