Let’s sustain educational intervention programmes

The fact that education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility is not questionable.

This is because education is a leveller and the only way to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

Therefore, for a country to achieve total progress, it is important that attention is focused on the development of its human capital and this can only be done with a solid education footing.

In Ghana, a number of interventions have been put in place to ensure that education is accessible to every child of school age.

Interventions such as the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (fCUBE), School Feeding Programme, Capitation Grant and the Free Senior High School are typical moves to make education accessible to all.

Therefore, Daily Graphic believes that any move or effort towards improving education is a welcome one worthy of support and we are committed to that.

It is in the light of this that the Daily Graphic supports the decision of the United Nations General Assembly to set aside January 24, as the International Day of Education is in the right direction.

The day aims at generating debate around how to strengthen education as a public endeavour and a common good.

It is also in recognition of the central role education plays in building sustainable and resilient societies, as well as in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The day further seeks to steer the digital transformation, support teachers, safeguard the planet and unlock the potential in every person to contribute to our collective well-being and a shared home.

Five years down the line since the institution of the day, a number of civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations in the education space have been playing crucial roles of holding duty bearers to deliver on their mandate towards achieving the SDG Four.

The Daily Graphic commends these CSOs and other organisations for their watchdog role and urges the government to see their role as complementary and not an antagonistic one.

Admittedly, the Free SHS programme is a great intervention to increasing access to potential students who would otherwise have missed out of the opportunity to attain secondary education.

Unfortunately, even though we have less than 10 years to attain the SDGs, we still have a long way to go in terms of access and quality of education.

In the country, currently, there are still schools under trees, schools without furniture, a shortfall of teachers in the rural areas, arrears on Capitation grant, among others, which are potential indicators that can affect the quality of education and be a barrier to attaining the SDGs.

These issues are particularly pronounced at the basic level within the public sector, where, ironically, we have the full control of the government.

The shortfall of infrastructure in schools no doubt is a great disincentive for teachers, who are key stakeholders in the development of the human capital enterprise.

It is a fact that some teachers decline postings to some rural areas because of some of these challenges and that has led to the shortfall of teachers in those communities, while in the urban areas there are more than enough teachers.

This is why the Daily Graphic calls for a deliberate action by the government to prioritise more investment into education, especially at the basic level to ensure a sound footing as the children progress on the academic ladder.

We believe that incentive packages can be put in place to motivate those who accept posting to the rural areas to ensure that those children are not disadvantaged unnecessarily.

For Ghana to be able to give its children a sound footing in education, it is important that all the interventions that have been put in place are sustained and, in some cases, improved upon.

As we join the rest of the UN family to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the International Day of Education, the Daily Graphic urges the government to continue to do more in terms of access and the quality of education it offers its children in preparing them for the future.

Surely, the level of preparation of today’s children will determine the kind of leaders we have tomorrow.

This is only possible if we give our children a solid foundation in education to enable them to rub shoulders with their counterparts anywhere in the world.