Group slams Govâ€™t over â€˜extremely poorâ€™ Kindergarten education in Ghana

Education

Mr. Raphael Ahenu, B/A Coordinator for Tax Justice Coalition Ghana

Group slams Govâ€™t over â€˜extremely poorâ€™ Kindergarten education in Ghana

The Coordinator for Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Activista, a global youth movement, Shadrack Kwadwo Adjei has observed that although the basic school education structure is made up of two (2) years Kindergarten, six (6) years Primary and three (3) years Junior High School, governments over the years had failed to provide decent environment and infrastructure for kindergarten pupils.

According to him, more than half of kindergartens across the country lack access to decent classrooms, furniture, and basic kids learning materials that could propel effective teaching and learning. Mr Adjei therefore called for educational system that was more relevant, equitable and inclusive in achieving sustainable development.

Speaking during Media Engagement in Sunyani, Mr Adjei further revealed that most of the teachers teaching in Kindergarten are untrained teachers, which he indicated was affecting quality at the foundational level. In most of the Kindergartens especially in the rural areas, pupils lay flat on their stomachs to write or study, others sit on their eating bowls or on stones throughout classes’ hours. Most of the Kindergarten pupils also study under trees and in pavilions because almost all classroom blocks built by Governments or MMDAs/Member of Parliaments are only six unit classroom blocks which cover only primary one to primary six.

The Media Engagement was part of activities to mark this year’s International Youth Day which was organized by Activista, in collaboration with Young Urban Women Movement and Brong-Ahafo Chapter of Tax Justice Coalition and supported by the Brong-Ahafo Office of ActionAid Ghana.

The global theme for this year’s International Youth Day 2019 was “Transforming education”, which highlights efforts to make education more relevant, equitable and inclusive for all youth, including efforts by youth themselves. Rooted in Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” –the International Youth Day 2019 was focused to examine how Governments, young people and youth-led and youth-focused organizations, as well as other stakeholders, are transforming education and how these efforts are contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In Ghana, Mr. Adjei noted indigenous youth, young people with disabilities, young women, young people belonging to vulnerable groups are facing additional challenges in accessing education that respects their diverse needs and abilities as well as reflects and embraces their unique realities and identities. But, the Activista Coordinator noted that education is key in unlocking the potential of all young people and preparing them for future opportunities.

“We must ensure our education system and knowledge we share, advances feminist alternatives, challenges hetero-normativity, patriarchy and gender norms that hinder progress toward gender justice and equality”.

The Brong-Ahafo Coordinator for Tax Justice Coalition Ghana, Raphael Godlove Ahenu in his presentation on Financing Education in Ghana, said, to ensure that all girls had a good quality education, governments in developing countries needed to increase their spending on education and improve its quality. “One key way to raise extra resources is by increasing tax revenues, and one major way to do that is to reduce or eliminate the tax incentives that many governments now offer, especially to corporations. This ‘tax expenditure’ causes a massive loss of potential revenues that could be spent on improving education and other public services”

Recent research by ActionAid, according to him, shows that governments in sub-Saharan Africa may be losing around US$38.6 billion a year, or 2.4% of their GDP, to tax incentives. This is equivalent to nearly half (47%) of their current education spending. Mr Ahenu was of the view that privatizing education is not the solution and governments must spend public funds on public education to ensure equal access and meaningful youth empowerment.

The Bron-Ahafo Programme Officer for ActionAid Ghana, Kwame Afram Denkyira, urged government to ensure provision of quality education to all without discrimination in the spirit of leaving no one behind. He urged African governments to invest in quality education that is transformative for its citizens, adding that, education is a ‘development multiplier’ in that it plays a pivotal role in accelerating progress across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, be it poverty eradication, good health, gender equality, decent work, reduced inequalities, action on climate change or building peaceful societies.