7 Pre-Tertiary Education Issues That Must Be Dealt With in 2023 By GES & MoE

There are several avoidable challenges in the education sector which demand lasting solutions and in this end of year article, we take a look at 7 Pre-Tertiary Education Issues That Must Be Dealt With By GES & MoE in 2023. 

The Ministry of Education (MoE), The Ghana Education Service (GES) and other government educational institutions charged with policy formulation and implementation must sit up and address challenges facing education with the aim of solving them once and for all and not merely toying with these challenges and offering half-baked solutions that do not last or that do not solve the problem.

The educations sector needs more innovative ideas and transformation that carries along the spirit and will of all stakeholders, including teachers and teacher unions at all levels.

In 2023, the MoE and the GES must provide unfailing leadership that brings all stakeholders to the decision-making table to ensure teachers and the teacher unions do not rebel against choices made for them.

One of the principles in leadership is that in instances where followers are more likely to rise against a decision, they must be made part of the decision-making through their leadership.

Teacher unions must become more united and belief in their unified front and its ability to yield better results so that they can fight for the betterment of their members at all times.

The agenda for teacher unions must be guided by “Service beyond self”  mentality if they are to be seen as seeking the interest of their hard-working members. Synergy must be given greater chance in 2023.

However, there are several issues hanging that the MoE and other allied educational institutions must aim at solving. It does not make sense to have the same problems repeating themselves several decades after.

In the 21st century, it will be insulting for the education sector to still be facing problems suffered several decades ago when IT has advanced and can be used to solve problems and offer seamless services to stakeholders in the education sector.

7 Pre-Tertiary Education Issues That Must Be Dealt With in 2023

#1. Processing of Staff IDs of newly posted teachers must not take more than 30 days to deal with.

The practice of making newly posted teachers to wait forever to get their details captured on government payroll does not make logical sense and must be resolved.

#2. Failing to listen to teacher unions and engaging them in discussions on issues of great concern to them must be taken more seriously in 2023.

The Human resource department of the Ghana Education Service must be seen as a problem-solving department and not a liability of the ministry.

There is the need for innovation in the Human Resource Practices which will transform the Department into a responsive and proactive department. From afar, I see HR challenges and inefficiencies as the reason behind many of the agitations of teachers.

#3. Challenges that come with the release of BECE results and school placement in the past must be solved. The GES, MoE and the Free SHS Secretariat must not only put call centres in place to deal with situations but also simulate the systems they are instituting.

Testing and stressing the system ahead of the school placement will help discover challenges and table useful solutions ahead of the real human interactions.

#5. The unavailability of books for public schools to help teachers and learners learn must be a thing of the past.

The academic year must not start with any form of excuses when it comes to the supply of books to all basic schools.

We have gone nearly three years without the full complement of textbooks. Quantity of the said textbooks should not be an issue.

#6. The MoE and other education institutions must be data-driven in the decisions they make.

We are good at collecting data, but very bad users of the data for decision-making purposes.

#7. Outstanding issues tabled by the Teacher Unions when they kicked against the appointment of Dr. Eric Nkansah must be taken serious and dealt with in record time.

READ: Breaking: 230 of 256 failed teachers pass teacher promotion exam after remarking

The new year must see total transformation and improvement in the welfare matters of teachers and all other employees. It is time to make the teaching profession more attractive than it has been.

Source: Wisdom Hammond