6 Annoying Failures of GES & MoE in 2021

Ghana Education News Update for the year-end looks at 6 Annoying Failures of GES & MoE in 2021. The year 2021 will go down in history as a year in which the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) had countless annoying failures as managers of education in Ghana.
In the year 2021, the GES posted teachers (recruitment and the posting of teachers in 2021 was a plus), it kept an eye on unapproved books in the public domain, got clearance for the recruitment of more teachers, it also celebrated teachers, and organized the Ghana teacher prize among others.
However, the collective inability of the GES and MoE to resolve very critical challenges makes teachers feel very bad, students and the general public alk feel everything is not well with the country’s pre-tertiary education.
The truth is that government institutions do not accept that they have failed the people, hence we do not expect that these two public education linchpins will accept that they have failed in the matters we are about to table. It is only those who accept that they have failed who have the chance to re-examine themselves and restrategize for better performance.
The failures of the two institutions give an indication that the MoE and GES do not respect employees of the education especially teachers at the pre-tertiary level. Every opportunity the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education got to impress teachers has led to agitations and mistrust.
The failures of the GES & MoE in 2021 will be glued in history for a very long time so long as they fail to deal with them.
Every institution that genuinely examines itself with the aim of ensuring better systems that produce the best results will surely find a way out of the challenge. Those that feel they are always right and do not see their mistakes will continue to be hunted by problems that re-surface all the time.
The GES and MoE are seemingly doing their best but can we say, teachers and students who are the key stakeholders are really enjoying the stress mounted on them by several failures of these institutions?
Teachers, students, parents, and the general public want to enjoy improved education with the highest service quality without being told that education has improved. They want to make such personal judgments.
If the GES and the MoE dedicate their efforts and resources to improving service quality, if teachers feel appreciated, respected, and valued, it can propel a change in teachers’ perception and improve teacher dedication to service.
Teachers are the first group of stakeholders who can attest that the GES and MoE have failed the education sector in the year 2021. There have been several low-key occurrences that have led to the poor efficiency of both institutions.
6 annoying failures of the GES & MoE in 2021
The following issues made the education managers and institutions lose valuable points on the performance scale.
a. Deduction of GHS509 from teachers’ salaries in November
The Deduction of GHS509 from teachers’ salaries in November and underpayment of salaries in December were the lowest key points getting to the end of the year. Others also had GHS100 deducted from their pay as licensing fees. Most of the teachers have not received their licenses. The deduction, according to them, occurred on their November 2021 salary, which they were not happy about.
b. Low-quality Laptops – One Teacher One Laptop Wahala
Teachers’ low-quality laptops contract and the suspected chop-chop was a raw deal that negatively affected teachers’ rating of the GES, MoE, and the three teacher unions (NAGRAT, GNAT, and CCT-GH). The attempt by Innovative teachers and ATAG hit the rocks however, they have promised to get back on track and fight for teachers.
c. Failure of the GES/MoE to supply textbooks
The failure of the GES to make sure textbooks are supplied to schools for effective teaching and learning. As we publish this article, no one knows when in 2022 that schools will be supplied with these long-overdue books. It is hoped that they will be made available before the academic year starts in January 2022 and that this will not be done with a “useless” launching, fun, and pageantry which will amount to waste state resources. Please do not launch the books. protect the public purse.
d. No training for JHS teachers on the new curriculum
The failure of the GES to train JHS teachers on the new curriculum has turned teachers into try and error masters of the new curriculum. The training which was initially scheduled to take place from December 2020 was boycotted by Junior High School (JHS) teachers over poor conditions offered them among others.
As a result, sometimes what to teach is a problem because teachers have not been provided the all-important training to roll out the curriculum. The training had to be postponed. The date for the training is not known yet. How can our teachers continue to give the best services in their various classrooms at the JHS level without the necessary training and development? Teachers are very disappointed with the GES for failing to deploy technology to get teachers to receive this all-important training.
e. Unpaid teachers legacy arrears
Unpaid legacy arrears for teachers whose hard work has not been compensated for since the government started paying the arrears in 2019 is another failure of the GES. Every effort by teacher unions to get those unpaid settled has proved futile.
f. Unpaid teacher trainee allowances in arrears
Teacher trainees allowances are in arrears and will not be paid until Next year. Unconfirmed reports indicate the government is planning to scrap the Teacher and Nursing trainee allowance. The none payment of the allowances on time leading to the accumulation of arrears has impacted teachers under training in diverse ways.
As we get ready to usher education in Ghana into the year 2022, the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education must not make a false start in the first quarter of 2022. They need to re-examine themselves, undertake a rigorous self-assessment, engage in wider consultation and strategic planning of education with stakeholders getting involved.
It must work hard to stabilize the SHS and its problems and ensure the Free SHS academic calendar is well structured for the 2022 academic year and released on time.
READ: Dangers of not releasing the 2022 Academic Calendar for Pre-Tertiary Schools on time
Feeding and accommodation in our senior high schools must improve.
Basic education which is the foundation of education in Ghana must be given great attention and should be well resourced to deliver.
READ: DG of GES and Min. of Education must resign if textbooks are not supplied to schools
The current practice where many levels of learners in public basic schools do not get assessed throughout the year must be looked at again and workable systems put in place.
On a scale of 1 to 10, we rate the two education institutions 3/10 on how they have managed the issues tabled.
Source: Ghanaeducation.org