Educators call for holistic reforms at Festival of Education  

Educators in Ghana have called for transformative reforms in the country’s education system to prepare students for future global demands.

They made the call at the Festival of Education organised by the Africa Education Gateway last Saturday in Accra. 

Representatives of public and private schools, leaders of teacher unions and educational experts attended the festival. 

The event had the theme, “Breaking limits” and it emphasised the urgent need for reforms to address foundational issues and prepare students for a rapidly changing world.

Breaking Barriers

The Dean of the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Ghana, Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann who spoke at the event, encouraged parents and teachers to strive to overcome societal, financial and personal limitations that hindered students’ successes. 

She also called for a shift in the mindset of parents and teachers, urging them to create an environment where students could learn from failures. 

“Education must create an environment where it is safe to fail and grow from the experience,” she emphasised.

Prof. Kaufmann criticised unethical practices in education such as parents bribing teachers to secure good grades for their children. 

“If we want our children to succeed, we must focus on values and skills not shortcuts,” she argued.  

She advocated more open-ended and creative teaching methods, which she experienced during her education abroad. 

“We need to equip our young people with the mindset to solve complex problems. It starts with asking open-ended questions and teaching them to think for themselves,” Professor Kaufmann said. 

She concluded with an appeal to policymakers to allocate more resources to education and support innovative approaches.

Promoting Excellence

For his part, the General Manager of Citi FM & Citi TV, Bernard Avle, urged educators to prioritise character formation and leadership development in students to achieve excellence. 

He also encouraged educators to embrace lifelong learning to keep pace with evolving educational demands.

Mr Avle described education as the foundation of national development and argued that the quality of leadership depended on the values instilled in citizens.

“Africa has great individuals but what we lack are great institutions. For excellence to last, we must institutionalise it,” he remarked.

The organisers of the festival also presented awards to groups and individuals who had contributed to education reform over the past years.

Collaboration

In an interview with the media, the Founder and CEO of Africa Education Gateway, Grant Bulmuo urged stakeholders to join efforts to improve outcomes for children.

 He emphasised that transformative practices and shared expertise remained critical to achieving success in education.  

"Many schools in Ghana have rich practices. They just need to open up and share what they have with other schools. 

“Administrators of schools must also come together and see how they can support one another," he stated.  

He further encouraged educators to view collaboration as a tool for growth rather than division.

 "The child is Ghanaian; that’s the most important thing. Whether it’s a private or public school, we need to come together, exchange strengths and abilities, and support one another for the sake of the Ghanaian child," he remarked.