General News of Wednesday, 26 September 2012

Source: Daily Guide

Basic Education Not Useful

JUNIOR HIGH School (JHS) is too basic to be accepted as the exit point of basic education for Ghanaian school children, Caring Kids International, a charity-based non-governmental organization has noted.

Nana Frimpomaa II, Chief Executive of Caring Kids, has started a campaign for the definition of basic education to be extended to cover Senior High Schools (SHS) as according to her the “Basic Education Certificate Examination is too basic to assess the performance of school children at the end of the basic level.”

She noted further that at the end of the JHS, the students were not employable and if they are denied an opportunity to further their education, the country cannot boast of raising reliable future leaders.

Speaking at a press briefing over the weekend in Accra, Nana explained that the main challenge of JHS graduates was how to fund themselves to SHS and it was for this reason that government and civil society must act with a sense of urgency in finding a practicable lasting solution to this challenge.

“As an individual with no help from government or any company, I have single handedly sponsored the education of these children to the SHS level and some of them are even in the university whiles others have completed and are working and paying taxes that are used in paying the politicians.”

“Currently, I have 147 of them and how to raise funds for their WASSCE registration fees is a challenge but by God’s grace, I won’t let them down. They would definitely make it. And if I can do this alone, why can’t the government help these children who we claim are our future leaders? As a country, we do not seem to take these things serious. We only pretend and play politics with their education, their lives and their future. It is a shame,” Nana Frimpomaa noted.

One of her beneficiaries, 19-year old SHS graduate, Ernest Yeboah, told DAILY GUIDE that Caring Kids International started sponsoring his education from primary two and that after completing SHS; the organization has found a job for him as he waits to enter the university.

“I am grateful to Nana and I call on government and all well meaning Ghanaians to support her. My worst grade was a B when I wrote the WASSCE and this means that some of us have the brains to learn to become useful citizens but we only need a little push as in funding. I would become a journalist by God’s grace and help her sponsor more children,” Ernest disclosed.