Never in a day have l regretted joining this lovely platform #steemit and getting connected with lovely people...Theres this intriguing national canker here in #Ghana which l apparently believe its ongoing in most of other parts of the world...It feels very pathetic sometimes but l surely believe with time things will surely get better..
THE PROBLEM...
Most people here in Ghana send their wards to private schools(individual owned) but not the public or the one established by the state...
Top government officials all have their wards in private schools and some even outside the country...The most mind blowing aspect of it all is the Professional Teachers who have attained training and employed by the state do not find their wards in the state owned schools but in schools established by private individuals...Is is because they dont even trust theirselves enough?...Someone may not see any sense in this...oh yeah cos thats a choice...But does this really have any significant effect on the state?...Do you see this a problem at all steemians?
WHY IS IT SO????
Very funny enough most of the teachers found at the state established colleges wont find any good reason to give you should you ask them why their wards are in private established schools......Here are very few reasons this is indeed happening.
*Technically,the performances of students in the private schools are marvelously better than than that of government schools...oh sure no doubt about that..They speak better English and get the best grades in Ghana here,,Dont really know that of your end.
*Most pupils in public schools are poorly fed, poorly clothed, and more importantly, poorly resourced materially to face academic work. This condition affects pupils psychologically. Hence, poor academic performance. The opposite is unchallengeably true with the private schools.
*In private schools, there is strict supervision, any Teaching and Learning Materials(TLMs) needed is available. Parents tend to buy and pay for needed teaching materials for their kids. I always say, why should I give birth for someone to take care of me if I am able and capable? Most parents whose wards are in the public schools DO NOT buy the needed materials for their kids...Oh Yes!!!!
*Some of the parents too don't feed their wards well but the same parents will daily pay transport fare, extra classes and canteen fees for their wards when they go to the private schools...Its so sad to know.
*Theres a public school closer to my house and just the teaching environment alone, turns off teaching. The building there is more of a death trap. Even textbooks to use are difficult to come by. Now tell me why a parent will send her child to such an environment?
*Or is it also because most people in Ghana like "Private" stuff...Maybe that is why a close friend of mine loves to cruise around town in his "Private" car though he owns 5 trotro vehicles (for public use)...lol
*The monitoring and evaluation systems of our educational systems especially the basic level are very weak and almost ineffective..
*Everyone has a right of sending their wards to any school they want. Again there is a perception in ghana that sending your child to government schools means you're poor.Hence pupils in public school( basic) dont perform during their BECE….
A colleague teacher once whispered into my ears that ''I went for a workshop and we were told to teach strictly in the local dialect at the lower primary level that's the policy''. If this is really true then how do we expect a kid in the public school to speak English which is the language the person will use in all other subjects? The private schools never adhere to these policies of the Education Service. The society also judge what the child has learned in his or her ability to speak the queen's language fluently. The sad irony about the policy is that some of the teachers too lack the requisite knowledge of the local language in terms of correct pronunciation, how words are written and the grammar. So in the end students can neither write in the local language nor the English language. This is just another undermining factor which contributes to Ghanaians inability to take their wards to the state owned schools. Policies are just thrown on us to implement without guidelines and supervision. When the supervisors come round, all they look for is Teachers lesson note and exercise books which the Leaders of private schools go beyond this.
STATISTICS..
Its estimated that Private schools in Ghana tops the yearly ranking of basic school examination examination (BECE) which really amazes the educational leaders.Sometimes the first ten students who top the national exams are definitely from private schools.
THE BIG DEAL...
*Should we compromise on this sake of freedom of association?
*Does this hinders national development?
*Should Teachers be blamed for the poor performance of students in the state schools?
I dont think this is happening around the world as it is here in Ghana..But whichever way it is,we surely have to make a high patronage to our state owned schools...
Thats not also to say private schools shouldnt be patronised....far from that, but state owned schools are expected to do better than usual in as much as much is invested into it by the state.
Teachers at the private schools are high or secondary school leavers whereas Professional Teachers with the necessary skills to make students do better are employed at the government schools..why then this results.?
Lets call on Government officials,NGOs and individuals to do their honest part in the quest of giving our nations the best of #education needed for a nation building
Lets help do better for our nation..