Bagbin opposes new school uniforms

Sunyani (Brong Ahafo Region) -- The Minority Leader, Alban Bagbin, has kicked against the move by the Ministry of education to revert to the old system of different uniforms for basic schools. He pointed out that the decision when implemented would worsen the economic plight of many parents and not solve the problem of indiscipline as envisaged.

According to Bagbin, information reaching the camp of the party indicate that, the move was to enable a particular person to become rich overnight by awarding that person the contract to produce the uniforms. The Minority leader who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nadowli, disclosed these to The Ghanaian Times in an exclusive interview at the final funeral rites of the late Alhaji Kwadwo Maama Adam, who was the Brong-Ahafo Regional chairman of the party. Alhaji Maama Adam, 44, died on his way from Accra to Sunyani, on 7 September when a tipper truck ran into his saloon pick-up, at Suhum.

The Minister of Education, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, has said that the change over to the new uniforms would take with effect from next academic year, for basic schools in the country. That, the Minister explained, would ensure easy identification as well as discipline in the schools.

But Bagbin explained that the issue bedevilling the education sector was not uniforms but lack of quality education, stressing that “it has not been said any where that the one being used is the cause of indiscipline, reduction in quality education or people finding it difficult to identify god or bad students”.

The NDC, he said, after a thorough review of the educational sector introduced the system because from the legal framework, the problem was the lack of sufficient financial support a situation that let the establishment of GETFund which was opposed by the then NPP minority in parliament.

The MP indicated that the main problem with education was with the quality, saying that the lack of quality came out because the Ministry had failed to make available the necessary input and logistics. Bagbin, therefore said “it is not advisable, appropriate and conducive to the national environment or to the behavioural attitude of school children who wore them.