A Nation at Risk: The case of the state of the economy of Ghana today

There is absolutely nothing to disprove the fact that the economy of Ghana is at great risk. It is a well known fact that one of the greatest ever tragedy that can befall an economy is devising a strategic approach to quality education using the lenses of politics. The progress of education in the country is being exposed to the strong winds of divisive politics. The figment of imaginations concerning recent happenings is really beyond simple understanding. The focus of burning political sensations is projected on one side and the desperate desire to enlighten the unsavoury reputation of the economy on the other side. As a result, the benefits of development have simply eluded the majority poor and that fear of insecurity has erupted as the new ‘revolution of disaster and hopelessness’ amid the already disenchanted youth. Indeed, politicians are playing havoc with the economy and it's about time much attention was given to the 'failed economy'.

A Nation At Risk was a report on education published in 1983 in the United States to find out the progress of their education. This article therefore seeks to bring into the limelight the state of Ghana’s education sector in order to secure the best for growth in the light of high illiteracy rate and poor formal education in the country.

Duration of SHS Education

It is increasingly clear that the importance of education in Ghana is gradually being compromised simply because of politics. Are politicians not toying with our educational system? For the past 20 years, educational policies are ostensibly akin to a pendulum swinging to and fro needlessly. Prior to the questions raised about the viability of the change of the four-year duration of senior high school adopted by the New Patriotic Party, the cabinet of the incumbent government has approved to revert to the three year duration for reasons not far-fetched. If the decision to retain the three-year duration was contained in the NDC manifesto (meaning it would be pending implementation when in office), why then the need to organise the stakeholders forum that sought to consider the desirability of either the three or four year duration of the SHS education. Is this not wastage of state funds? It is a fact to establish that the blatant change in the duration of the SHS education means Ghana is gradually heading into a tragedy which is seemingly irreversible. This is very distressing to the livelihoods of the ordinary people considering the recent high cost of education. It is high time the falsehoods of politics in the country were relegated to the background for the reality of salient issues to prevail. Whether three years or four years, it is imperative for the country to adopt a long-term education plan that would be binding to any political party that comes to power.

Segregation

Education policy in Ghana has not enjoyed broad political support. Public education is generally regarded a distributive policy thereby benefiting the entire community. However, this is not the situation in Ghana. As much as racial segregation in most public schools increased astronomically in the United States up to the 1970s, so are geographical, financial and political segregations in facilities distribution rife in the education of sector in Ghana. This section of the education sector has been neglected for so long and it accounts for the poor student performances of late. It is, therefore, not surprising that ‘Not a single pupil from Anyinam Kotoku LA Methodist JHS, near Akyem Oda in the Eastern Region, has passed the BECE for the past eight years’ (myjoyonline.com). The question is 'what has become of the fate of these students?' Segregation has utterly dimmed the glittering importance of public education which is a necessity for the survival of individuals and communities and a precondition for a democratic society.

In considering the state of geographical segregation, the urban population purportedly benefits enormously in the provision of public and private schools and related facilities to the total neglect of those in the rural areas. Though this pattern of education in Ghana was started during the colonial period where educational provision was directly related to the proximity of the coast to the neglect of the hinterland, recent post-independent governments have as well strictly kept to this system. This structure also explains the wide development disparity between the urban and the rural areas. Present situation has it that children have to walk long distances to different communities to assess education. The ordeal of these rural folks in the country to be educated which is their fundamental human right is evidenced in the poor performance and high school drop-out rates in the rural areas. It should be noted with concern that children in the poorest rural areas not only have less chance of going to school; they have much less chance of going to good schools. Almost all facilities required by a school for higher performances are located in the urban areas. It is, therefore, not surprising that it is those that attend schools in the urban areas that have the opportunity to attend the so-called big schools like Prempeh College, Mfantsipim, Wesley Girls’ High School, just to mention a few and the possible chance to proceed to the universities.

In the special case of financial segregation, low-income earners who are mostly found in the rural areas are subjected to a lot of tremors. Fees charging serve to exclude the poor from pursuing quality education. Those who live in the urban areas and attend schools there are better positioned to excel as it is not the case in the rural areas. But for the intervention of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education, this problem would have been very devastating. Nonetheless, the problem still persists. The purchase of books, uniforms, transport and accommodation also put a lot of financial burden on poor parents and students and thus act as a process of exclusion of the poor from enjoying better education.

One of the most obvious and unfortunate form of segregation in the country is categorised under political. Political segregation has assumed sophisticated heights of late in the development of Ghana. Ruling governments in the country are moved to increase infrastructure level including education facilities to their perceived strongholds during elections. This has resulted in the complete deprivation of education facilities in some communities regarded to be unsupportive to the ruling government. The way and manner the school-feeding programme was politicized resulted in poor rural communities being completely left out while communities in the urban areas benefited. Politics has strongly derailed the progress of the economy and unless this attitude is changed, development of Ghana would continue to be a mocking mirage. Wear free school uniforms and sit under trees to learn or walk long distances to another community to assess education. Oh! What a country.

Unraveling the Cover-ups

In East Asia, according to a World Bank Report, "Re-thinking the East Asian Miracle" in 2001 it was emphasized that the countries in East Asia concentrated on primary and secondary education for both boys and girls as a priority over prestigious higher education for a few. This catapulted their growth and development which would remain a hallmark in the world’s history of development. If, indeed, education is a panacea to poverty alleviation then the expansion of quality of education (both formal and informal) should be given the utmost priority by the government, NGOs and Civil Society Organisations when momentous development is to be realised. Education policies should be skewed towards the expansion of quality education in the rural areas. There should be a ‘No Community Left Behind Policy’ that will tackle the provision of schools and facilities to deprived rural areas in the country for grassroots empowerment. Make strides in considering ‘Special Education in Rural Areas Policy’ that will serve to ensure vigorous enhancement of quality education including good and enough motivated teachers. It would also inculcate the possibilities of combining the nutritional, social and educational status of people in the rural areas to ensure higher performances and training of high skilled labour force. The government should therefore engage the increased participation of the private sector in ensuring the equitable distribution of the benefits of quality primary and secondary education. Though the government has allocated 35% of the national budget to education, according to the Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Joseph Samuel Annan (The Ghanaian Times, August 4, 2009), ensuring quality education would prove futile if the primary and secondary education is neglected in the rural areas and as such the rising cost of education is not immediately arrested. Based on the fact that education is a precondition for a democratic society, Ghana

would be more strategically positioned as a developed democratic country when the best is achieved concerning expanding the net of basic public education in the rural areas and providing quality facilities. We can make it if enabling environment is created for better education for all.

The author Stephen Yeboah is at the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

Email: stephenyeboah110@yahoo.com