“Investing in Education: At the heart of building a Ghana Beyond Aid is a skilled, well-educated citizen prepared for a value-added, well-paying job. We will continue our investments in providing Free SHS and TVET Education, continue with the implementation of the free Wifi for SHS and public tertiary institutions project, roll out the US$219 million GALOP initiative to resource students and teachers in disadvantaged schools, and expand the use of technology as learning aids in schools by students and teachers.”
“We will also continue to increase the manpower resources and teaching facilities, including the use of ICT teaching aids, of public tertiary institutions to support the anticipated increases in student population from the Free SHS graduates, as well as resources and infrastructure for special needs education across the country. We will make sure no student who has obtained admission to a tertiary institution is denied access because they are unable to pay fees, by providing them an option to obtain a student loan without the requirement of a guarantor for the loan, provided the student has a National Identification Number from the GhanaCard, and to defer repayment of the loan after National Service plus an additional one-year grace period.”
These were the NPP’s thoughts on restructuring the education sector to ensure that the government achieves a Ghana Beyond Aid.
Almost two years down the line, Educationist and Management Expert, Nii Armah Addy believes that the government has failed to achieve even 30 percent of what it promised.
“If I assessed it as of now, I would not even give it 30 percent. I would be very charitable as someone who has taught in the university for over 10 years.”
“They [the government] talks about expanding ICT at the Senior High School levels. Let’s go there and find out if any ICT tools have been added. I do not know of any. I wrote copiously during the COVID-19 times and said how we have been exposed by the lack of usage of ICT in our education. Even in the peak where we were running helter-skelter to find solutions, we couldn’t even do anything.”
“What we have done, which is credible is the teacher laptop scheme but what is the essence if the teacher has it and the student doesn’t have it? It is a two-way affair. The teacher paid part of the money [for the laptops] while the government paid part so that’s where I’ll credit the government.”
While the government may have provided some SHSs and public tertiary institutions with free Wi-Fi, Mr. Addy doubts its reliability.
He spoke on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show Friday, September 16, 2022.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
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