When the fundamentals of education are weak: We need resetting not upgrading

Over the past two weeks, our nation has witnessed discourses as to whether rescuing the current economic malaise we experience as citizens requires a policy driven by the phenomenon of resetting or upgrading. 

While the former President and the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, upholds resetting as the most appropriate strategy for redeeming citizens from the unbearable economic hardships they have been subjected to since 2017, the Vice-President and the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, articulates aversion to the idea of resetting in the debate surrounding the current economic policy trajectory. He argues that what we need is upgrading not resetting.       

Upgrading

To understand Dr Bawumia’s notion of upgrading, I have fastidiously explored multiple sources of information including the Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries and artificial intelligence (AI) aided materials on the web.  

From these sources, resetting involves changing the way something is done for the primary purpose of improvement, radical fundamental transformation of existing systems, and re-examining or reviewing existing systems while upgrading involves improving, adding to something or upscaling existing systems.  

Going by these definitions, it is only a system that has been tested and found to work well that can be upgraded. If the system has challenges and is not working well, you reset, you do not upgrade. 

Failing system

Upgrading a failing system only scales up the degree of failure. In this context, I wonder if Dr Bawumia is suggesting to Ghanaians that he will not reset the numerous fundamental operational challenges that inhibit quality education but will upgrade them.  

Basic education serves as the foundation for all levels of education; yet quality primary education in our country has been given little attention and saddled with challenges including inadequate textbooks and teaching learning materials (TLRs) for the standard-based curriculum, disruption of school feeding arrangements and over 5000 basic schools still operating under trees.  

Is Dr Bawumia telling Ghanaians that he will upgrade the number of schools operating under trees? The Free SHS implementation is also fraught with challenges including insufficient TLRs, staggered academic calendar under a double track system, inadequate and delayed release of food items, inadequately equipped science and ICT laboratories, overstretched teaching staff, school placement lapses, and weakened PTA operations.  

Managing GETFund

At the tertiary level, there are many deficiencies including stalled GETFund projects and threats to academic freedom through interferences in governance roles of governing councils.

Nobody can deny that the government’s current priorities in managing the GETFund are fundamentally flawed.

The GETFund was set up to mobilise funds to support education; yet the fund’s expenditure now services institutions that aren’t directly linked to education, with little attention.

Besides, the fund has been collateralised denying educational institutions maximum benefit.

Many GETFund projects on campuses are stalled. Is Bawumia suggesting that the collateralisation and misdirection of GETFund expenditure would be upgraded?

The fundamental principles for managing the GETFund have been weakened. Where the fundamentals are weak, we need resetting not upgrading.  

In conclusion, if our educational system can meet the demands of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Four (SDG4), which emphasises quality and equitable education, then we need to address the fundamental errors in our educational system.

In doing this, future policies must be driven by intentional reviews of the current educational system within the context of quality and equity-indexed access expansion, with particular attention to the foundational phases (kindergarten, primary and junior high school).

It is only when we strengthen young people’s learning at the basic level that the expected knowledge, skills and appropriate attitudes developed can be leveraged to promote quality learning at the secondary and tertiary levels of education.

This can only be done through resetting not upgrading.  Without a well-thought-through resetting of our priorities in the education sector, Dr Bawumia’s touted upgrading phenomenon will only deepen and upscale the existing.

Focus on upgrading without first resetting challenges faced by headmasters/headmistresses, teachers, students and parents in our schools, widen the quality and equity gaps between rural/peri-urban less-endowed and urban-endowed schools and suppress foundational learning.

Resetting our educational provision and delivery is what we need not upgrading. Undoubtedly, Bawumia’s upgrading mantra will not only deepen and upscale the flaws in our educational system but also be a disaster to our educational system.  

The writer is a Professor of Educational Leadership at University of Cape Coast.

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System Summary

The article delves into the ongoing debate between former President John Dramani Mahama and Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia regarding the best strategy to rescue Ghana’s struggling economy and education system. Mahama advocates for a reset of current systems, implying a fundamental transformation, while Bawumia favours upgrading, which suggests enhancing existing structures.

The author, a professor of educational leadership, argues against Bawumia’s upgrading strategy, especially concerning Ghana's education sector. He highlights the numerous challenges in basic and tertiary education—such as schools operating under trees, inadequate teaching resources, stalled GETFund projects, and a flawed Free SHS implementation.

The professor stresses that upgrading a failing system will only escalate the problems, arguing that a reset is needed to fix foundational issues in the education sector. Resetting, he suggests, would allow Ghana to meet the demands of SDG4 (quality and equitable education).

He concludes that without addressing the fundamental errors in the system, Bawumia’s upgrading strategy will widen the quality gaps and further weaken educational provision, making it a disaster for the country’s education system.