Educational reform should reflect national aspiration - Educationist

The Headmaster of Mama Jane International School, a basic school located at Kasoa Adam Nana in the Awutu Senya East Municipality, Mr. John Mensah has urged educational planners and policy-makers introducing reforms in the basic school syllabi to ensure that the changes are responsive to the national aspiration and also address socio-cultural challenges of society and the country at large.

The reforms, according to him should also be sustainable enough to inculcate desirable cultural values in the beneficiaries adding that the spirit of patriotism and “Ghana First” cannot be overlooked in the scheme of things.

He urged the constitutional education body concerned to also consult broadly in the reformation process to give the exercise a fair reflection of constructive views that would help arrive at a consensus.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has been tasked to review the number of subjects, the content and the structure of basic school curriculum.

Mr. Mensah said although educational reforms is introduced by successive governments from time to time, however, anytime it happens it should have that enduring feature which does not depart from the collective national vision.


In an interview following the emergence of a student of the school, Safana Muhaymine Guro who on independence day, received the Municipal Chief Executive Award, as the first-ever overall best candidate among six others in the municipality, in the 2018 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), he said the original concept of the Junior High School(JHS) system which equips the child after completion with basic problem-solving and critical thinking skills, relevant to nation-building has been lost with the JHS level resigned to only a preparatory stage for the Senior High School(SHS).

He said measures being adopted should include a strong linkage between the JHS and the SHS so that at any point a beneficiary of the reforms can be useful to fit into society to contribute to national development in some form.

He welcomed the incoming reforms saying that it will go a long way to produce well-rounded students and promote civic consciousness among students.
He attributed much of the competitive excellence being recorded among schools and students alike at the BECE across the country to the long-held independence day presidential initiative, replicated at the local level that awards best performing students who excel in the BECE.

Originally, since 1993, the President Independence Day Award ceremony has honoured a number of hardworking students who excelled in the BECE.

It has been providing scholarships each year for two deserving brilliant students, a boy and a girl, in each region totaling 20 nationwide.

Mr. Mensah said a product of the school having achieved this feat is a testament of the effects of quality content, self-discipline and motivation imparted to the students, adding that the school is bent on achieving more laurels by delivering on quality content and providing the necessary human and other resources.

Students of the school, he said demonstrate outstanding performances in all academic and social endeavors because of their sound training on the core values of discipline, academics and Christian principles.

Speaking on the challenges faced by the school, he mentioned the bad state of roads in the area which according to him, has become impassable adding that it is even worse during the rainy season making accessibility to the school difficult. He said sanitation is also a challenge and called on the assembly to go the extra mile to tackle these issues.

According to him, the school organizes periodic clean up exercises to contribute their quota to minimizing the menace of filth adding, however that the assembly must step in to officially address these concerns.

The school, he said is working hard to target the award on the regional and national levels, adding that no effort would be spared in this direction.

Mama Jane International School continues to be one of the best well-established schools in the municipality with high grade performances at the BECE every year.