MIS-EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON EDUCATION

4th SEPTEMBER, 2008

In the last week, the Convention People's Party has waded into the education debate.

Speaking at a Press Conference in Accra on Monday, the 25th of August, Dr Nduom said, " Many of our children cannot read, write or express themselves well in English or in any of our local languages. The same difficulty exists in the area of science and technology….. The fact of the matter is that our education system is in crisis".

He is right and that is why following the Anamuah-Mensah report, the NPP government launched a new Educational Policy in 2007. The goal of that new policy is to address the very problems Dr Nduom refers to in the above statement.

He also said " We do not have free and compulsory education of any type in Ghana".

That statement too, is correct. While Dr Nduom states the problem correctly, he does not offer a practical solution. The goal of every responsible Ghanaian is to work towards the day when every Ghanaian child will be in school instead of at home, on the farm or on the streets. That is what the NPP has been working to achieve. Indeed, in the last seven years, as result of the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Program and massive investments in infrastructure at all levels, enrolment has increased by a third at the primary level, by 50% in our Polytechnics and doubled in our public Universities. This is the kind of performance in the provision of opportunities for citizens that would make any liberal democratic government proud. Indeed, Dr Nkrumah, if true to his convictions, must, consistent with the acts and achievements of the CPP, be applauding the NPP's achievements from his grave. Unfortunately, Dr Nduom can only criticize. How does Dr Nduom propose to make education compulsory? By jailing children? By jailing their parents? The NPP has shown that measures like the Capitation Grant and School Feeding Program can increase basic level enrolment dramatically. We should seek to expand such programs to all schools in all districts so that parents, educated about the benefits of education for their families and children, can send their children to school voluntarily instead of going to prison for not sending their children to school.

Unfortunately for our political discourse, Dr Nduom also claimed that only 50% of this years' BECE candidates had been successful in their exams. That information was not correct. In fact, according to the West Africa Exams Council, 62.16% of candidates were successful. We concede the possibility that Dr Nduom may have been given false information that he repeated at his Press conference. In such situations, the right thing for the speaker to do is to acknowledge his/her error as soon as it is brought to their attention and apologise for any untoward effects. That is why we have waited this long to react to Dr Nduom's Press Conference. Unfortunately, Dr Ndoum has neither corrected the erroneous information he put out nor apologised to the public for misleading them. I urge Dr Nduom to do the right thing by acknowledging his error and rendering an unqualified apology to the public.

To add to this mis-education of the public, a CPP activist, Mr Nii Armah Akomfrah, claimed that the NPP Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, during an address to the TUC, appeared to blame teachers, for the problems in our education!

That charge is false. Nana Akufo-Addo, the grandson of a teacher has, together with his party, the NPP had the highest respect for teachers. That is why we have increased the pay of teachers significantly during our reign. For example, the salary of a Cert A teacher in primary school has increased from 500 Ghana cedis to 2400 Ghana Cedis since 2001.

Despite our achievements in education, the best is yet to be.

We will extend both the Capitation Grant and School Feeding program to all basic schools.

Also, a government led by Nana Akufo-Addo will make Senior High School education free.

Furthermore, we shall put the teacher at the centre of our educational system by improving training, increasing salaries and providing housing and rural allowances in addition to a reformed pension system while fighting teacher absenteeism.

In addition, we shall provide Universities in all regions that have none while expanding existing ones.

These educational initiatives will be guided by the over-arching goal of preparing our young men and women in school and at our work-places with the necessary skills for the jobs of tomorrow. This will involve funding attachments, provision of skills grants and the construction of Colleges of Technology that will equip those unable to enter institutions of higher-learning with the skills for productive, high-paying work.

Finally, we welcome the CPP to our campaign of ideas and issues. However, let Dr Nduom and the CPP take cognisance of the counsel to all who wish to enter the market place of ideas that " Opinions are free but facts are sacred".

We await Dr Nduom, s acknowledgement of his error and his apology to the people of Ghana.

Let us move forward.

Yenko yanim

Wonya wor hie

Arthur Kobina Kennedy

(Chair, Communication Committee)

2008 Campaign