New Curriculum English Language Text Books Supplied. Are you a teacher or a headteacher in a public school? Did you receive these books?
While the nation waits for official communication of the readiness and supply of test books to be announced, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Education, Mr Kofi Kwarteng has disclosed that English Language textbooks have already been supplied to nearly all public basic schools to facilitate teaching and learning. This was made possible with the support of UNESCO according to the PRO of the Education Ministry.
Mr Kofi Kwarteng made this information public in an interview he granted Joy News during the AM Show monitored by Ghana Education News today 16th June 2022. He said the Ministry has accepted responsibility for the delay in the supply of textbooks but was working on it and that the books may be ready by September if the terms of the contract with the publishers are observed.
The Ghana Education News team would work to verify the information on the ground as to whether schools have received the English Language Text Books supplied.
While giving reasons for the delay, he said the Ministry had to set up a quality assurance committee to access the content of the books given the wrong information and ethnic bias content which become public knowledge with regard to some textbooks.
He also blamed the delays on Covid-19 for delays in the training of teachers on the curriculum at the JHS level.
Me. Kwarteng was of the view that textbooks were important but, he was quick to add, that the new standard-based curriculum is not textbook centred and that the teachers’ resource packs made available to educators were key in delivering. If you look at the standard-based curriculum, it is not an entirely textbook centred… but a supplementary material” He said. According to him, the 150,000 teachers’ resource packs were produced as part of the effort of the MoE to ensure the smooth implementation of the new curriculum.
Stakeholders who called into the programme disagreed with Mr Kwarteng and said the content which is to be taught cannot be found in the teacher’s resource pack, making textbooks very important for the teacher and the learner.
Teachers who called in also charged the Ministry to speed up the production of the textbooks. Stephen, a phone-in caller, shared an on-the-field experience and said when teachers go to do their teaching practice and request the teacher’s resource packs supplied by the Ministry, they are told that they are not available.
Another caller argued that the current education system is purposely put in place to deny the poor and their children access to quality education. He furthered that, the lack of textbooks and other important teaching resources in public schools will keep the poor in their current state, while those making the policies either enrol their wards in national schools or send them abroad for better education.
Source: Ghanaeducation.org