Private versus public School

Private versus public
Some differences between public and private schools are obvious. But deciding what's right for your child entails shedding light on the subtle distinctions many parents ignore.

Private versus public! It’s a debate that rages across the playgrounds and living rooms of America. In fact, according to a 2009 Great Schools and Harris Interactive poll, nearly one in four parents are currently considering switching their child’s school either from private to public or public to private as a result of the economy.
What’s better for your youngster? How can you compare private and public schools when they seem so disparate? Is it like comparing apples and oranges — two different things that can’t be fairly held to the same standards?
As any parent who has toured both kinds of school knows, it’s not always easy to answer these questions. Many people have a bias one way or another. Some assume that private schools offer superior everything, justifying their tuition costs. Others contend that public schools provide more real-life experiences or, in some cases, more-developed specialty programs in athletics or science.
While this primer won’t dare takes sides, it will touch on the most fundamental differences between public and private schools — as well as a few subtle distinctions that might make all the difference for your child.

The bottom line
The most obvious discrepancy between public and private schools comes down to cold, hard cash. The good news for parents is that public schools cannot charge tuition. The bad news is that public schools are complicated, often underfunded operations influenced by political winds and shortfalls. Financed through federal, state, and local taxes, public schools are part of a larger school system, which functions as a part of the government and must follow the rules and regulations set by politicians.

In contrast, private schools must generate their own funding, which typically comes from a variety of sources: tuition; private grants; and fundraising from parents, alumni, and other community members. (Ever wonder why private schools celebrate Grandparent’s Day and public schools don’t?) If the school is associated with a religious group, the local branch may provide an important source of funding as well

The potential benefits of private schools accrue from their independence. Private schools do not receive tax revenues, so they do not have to follow the same sorts of regulations and bureaucratic processes that govern (and sometimes hinder) public schools. This allows many private schools to be highly specialized, offering differentiated learning, advanced curriculum, or programs geared toward specific religious beliefs. There are exceptions to such generalizations — charter and magnet schools are increasingly common public schools that often have a special educational focus or theme.

The admissions game
Another obvious distinction between public and private schools results from their respective admissions procedures. By law, public schools must accept all children. In many cases, enrolling your child involves little more than filling out a few forms and providing proof of your address to the local school district office. In practice, however, getting your child into the public school of his or her choice can be much more complicated.
Because not all public schools have resources for helping students with special needs, enrolling a child with a learning disability or other disorder may entail a more complex process. Similarly, in school districts with “school choice” policies, the procedure for finding a public school may require that parents enter a lottery to gain admission for their child into their top pick. Finally, at the high school level, many districts in larger metropolitan areas offer special schools with competitive enrollment based on students’ GPAs or artistic portfolios.
Private schools, by their very definition, are selective. They are not obligated to accept every child, so getting admitted may involve in-depth applications with multiple interviews, essays, and testing. Because private schools define the identity of their communities, they often pick and choose between candidates based not only on their scholastic achievement but also their ethnicity and religious background — as well as the special attributes (or assets) of their parents.

Teachers, curriculum, and class size
While most people assume that teachers at private schools are as qualified as those at public ones, it’s important to note that all teachers in a public school are usually state certified or, at a minimum, working toward certification. Certification ensures that a teacher has gone through the training required by the state, which includes student teaching and course work. Teachers in private schools may not be required to have certification. Instead, they often have subject-area expertise and an undergraduate or graduate degree in the subject they teach.
There’s a similar discrepancy between curriculum development in private and public schools. Public schools must follow state guidelines that set out specific standards and assessment procedures. In theory, this creates a certain amount of quality control. Private schools, on the other hand, can choose whatever curriculum and assessment model they wish. This freedom to design their own curriculum or avoid standardized tests can result in higher standards for students.
Many states recognize the value of small classes and have provided funding to keep class sizes small in grades K-3. As students advance to higher grades, class size tends to get bigger in public schools, especially in large school districts and urban schools.
While many private schools provide small classes with low student-to-teacher ratios, there is no guarantee that such schools will keep their class size below a certain level. Some private schools — Catholic ones, in particular — traditionally have larger classes than public schools.
Special needs
Due to special education laws, public schools must educate all children and provide the necessary programs to meet their special needs. This means that all school districts have special education programs and teachers who are trained to work with special-needs students.
Private schools do not have to accept children with special needs, and many choose not to (although there are a small number of private schools designed for special-needs children). As a result, most private schools do not have special education programs or teachers trained to work with that student population. Some private schools will try to help all the students they admit, but extra resources may come at an additional cost. Other private schools practice something called “counseling out” — recommending that children with learning disabilities look elsewhere for a school.
How do you know what’s right for your child?
Don’t rely on hearsay and rumor when it comes to deciding between private and public. Visit the schools and ask the teachers lots of questions. Read school profiles on . At the end of the day, the best school for your child is a highly personal decision based on your family; your values; and, most important, the special needs, idiosyncrasies, and interests of your kid. Let the debate rage on, but don’t forget about the one person for whom this decision is far more than sandbox banter.

Testing at private vs. public schools
Private school students typically score higher than public school students on standardized tests Public school students in fourth and eighth grade scored almost as well or better than their private school peers in reading and math, except that private school students excelled in eighth-grade reading.
 Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah
NED - GNACOPS

Private Education A lasting Treasure For every Ghanaian Child

Private Education  A lasting Treasure For every Ghanaian Child.

Religious and independent schools have been part of our country from the start. They give students a solid and well rounded education, they provide parents with alternatives to the government schools and they save taxpayers a ton of money.
In short ,private schools are good for students, good for families and good for Ghana.
Choosing a school for children is one of the most important decisions parent must make, for the parent of more than six million children, the choice is religious and independent schools ,make that choice for many reason, quality academics, an education that focuses on the whole person, spiritual and ethnical values, caring teachers, a safe environment, supportive communities, individual attention and much more.
Parents want to give their children the things that matter most in life not just stylish clothes or the latest gadgets but lasting treasures love, values, purpose , responsibilities, a sense of being rooted in life and connected to it's source children only what really counts.
We hear a great deal of talks these days about having kids master standards in reading and math, of course those skills are important and in private schools their mastery is expected ,but learning maths formulas and decoding words are not the goals of education but path. To  a goal is the formation of the whole person moral, spiritual, cultural , academics, aesthetic, physical and when constructing a beautiful puzzle its always best to have full picture in mind.
But these days some schools are loosing sight of the whole picture while obsessing about particular pieces . A close family member taught in a public chapter school last year , the school's very survival depended on whether students met adequate yearly progress on standardized test in two subjects ;reading and maths. So you can imagine where teachers put their energy and focus, what's more the new common core standards that many states have adopted for public schools suggests more of the same because those standards not to mention  the state assessments that will measure mastery of those standards deal exclusively with reading and maths.
It's as if the whole lifespan  has been sacrificed for a couple of parts.
Private schools do more than  teach  children to  decipher sounds and apply formulas because a fully rounded person is more than the sum of those skills, sure we teach maths and reading and every assessment shows our students well exceed the national average but we do also cover Arts, Music ,Science, Social   Studies, Physics and in most private schools religion.
Why are we here? what is our responsibility to others and the society ?What is our ultimate destiny ?
Those are some of the issues tackled in religious and independent schools , just look at the mission statement of private schools or better yet visit  one .
Conclusively private schools help provide parent's children with lasting treasure.
By Enoch Kwasi Gyetuah
Executive Director
(GNACOPS)
    &
A Seasoned
Educational consultant ( GEKAD)

SPEECH BY HON. SIAKA STEVENS; THE CHAIRMAN OF PARLIAMENTARY SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AT THE MAIDEN CONGRESS OF THE GHANA NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS AT GOLDEN TULIP HOTEL, KUMASI ON THE 19TH OF JANUARY, 2018

SPEECH BY HON. SIAKA STEVENS AT THE MAIDEN CONGRESS OF

THE GHANA NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS AT GOLDEN TULIP HOTEL, KUMASI ON THE 19TH OF JANUARY, 2018.

The Asantehene - Otumfour Osei-Tutu Il

The Vice-President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia

Minister for Education, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh  

The Director General, Ghana Education Service, Prof. Kwasi Opoku Amankwa

Distinguished Guest,and Gentlemen,

I must express how delightful I am today to be part of this maiden congress of the

Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS). I bring you greetings from Parliament, especially from the Speaker and Members of the Parliamentary

Select Committee on Education. We are aware of the tremendous contribution you are making towards enhancing the standard and quality of education in Ghana. We say kudos to you and also urge you not to relent on your efforts in this direction.

I must begin by telling you a bit about the Parliamentary Select Committee on

Education and what as a Committee we do to enhance educational development in Ghana.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is not going to be easy as we all know the kind of fiscal or budgetary space

government has. But as President Akuffo-Addo has been saying and I quote, "leadership is about choices". Recognizing the importance of education in national

development, government has education as one of its priority areas.

The introduction of the Free SHS policy is a clear demonstration of the current government's commitment in ensuring that secondary education become accessible to all.

I however, the implementation of the Free SHS has not been without challenges. Finding sustainable financing to make the program running and to provide the needed infrastructure is very crucial for the success of the programme. It is

therefore important that as a country we make all the necessary efforts to find the needed fund for the implementation of the programme and also its extension to private schools. It is in this light that I see the call for educational fund necessary.

1 can assure you that Parliament would continue to ensure that adequate budgetary provision is made to the implementation of government programmes in the education sector. Again, Parliament, through the work of the Education Committee will ensure the effective implementation for programmes in the education sector

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is in this light that I find the theme of this maiden conference "Reshaping Public-Private Partnership in Effective Education Delivery" more appropriate.

This underscores the importance of building a consensus on the kind of model of PPP we want to adopt in the educational sector.

I am aware of some proposals submitted to the Ministry of Education to include

Private Second Cycle Schools in the next face of implementation of the Free SHS policy. I want to use this opportunity to say that negotiations such as this should start at a time when policies are made explicit in the Manifestos of Political Parties.

This can help shape policies and their implementation to the benefits of all.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We in Parliament are aware of some of the challenges that private schools face in terms of infrastructure, training of staff and attrition rate of pupils especially at the basic level as a result of parents 'inability to pay school fees, among others which tend to undermine your work. A PPP arrangement in these areas can help address some of these challenges. For example, if government programs such as non-payment of BECE registration fees for public schools, Capitation Grants and School Feeding are extended to private schools can help address the attrition rate of pupils at the basic level of education.

Free teaching and learning materials such as chalk, school uniforms, textbooks, furniture among others;

Non-payment of BECE registration fees for public schools;

 Capitation Grants;

 School Feeding Programme;

 Free Senior High School; and the

 Provision of infrastructure such as classrooms, computer laboratories, among others.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is about time these issues are engaged in our national discourse and to decide whether these programs should be extended to private schools, given that children in private basic and secondary schools are also Ghanaians. Government has the responsibility to ensure that all Ghanaian children complete their basic education whether in public or private schools.

The main rationale for public-private partnerships (PPP s) in education is to maximize the potential for expanding equitable access to schooling and for improving education outcomes, especially for marginalized groups.

We should therefore find ways in which the public and private sectors can join together to complement each other's strengths in providing education services and helping to meet the Sustainable Development Goals for education and to improve learning outcomes.

      Stakeholders to find practical ways of improving educational delivery in Ghana.

And in this particular one, I am happy that you will be deliberating on effective ways by which managements of private schools can augment the Public-Private

Partnership policy of the government in educational delivery in Ghana.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Despite the important contribution made by private schools towards educational development in Ghana, the extent of Ghana's engagement in Public-Private Partnership at the basic and secondary education is very low. The kind of partnership that currently exists is more regulatory than giving private schools any fort of assistance.

To the best of my knowledge, there are limited government subsidies to inputs in private schools, no government contract with private schools to provide a portion of education, and no government contract for the private management of public schools at the basic and secondary school levels.

These are various models of PPP arrangement that we can build consensus on and craft a policy in this direction.

Dwelling on government subsidies to inputs in private schools, I know for a fact that GNACOPS  is not happy with the policies and programmes of government that are only benefitting public schools. These include:

Order 1 86 of the Standing Orders of Parliament establishes the Select Committee on Education and mandates the Committee to deal with all matters relating to education in general. In this regard, the Committee is very instrumental in scrutinizing the budget of the Ministry and its Agencies and ensuring sufficient budgetary allocation for the implementation of educational programs.

The Committee also exercises its oversight responsibilities by monitoring the expenditure of the allocated funds to ensure that monies parliament has authorized are used for the purposes for which they were intended. To ensure whether government educational projects are completed on time, the Committee undertakes monitoring visits to project sites to assess the level of progress and to reports back to the House. This engenders Members of Parliament to ask questions which demands answers from the Minister for Education on the Floor of Parliament. This is just but a few of what the Committee does in the area of educational development in Ghana.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we all know, private schools contribute enormously to education delivery in Ghana in terms of providing training and holistic education for the teaming infants and adolescents, especially, in primary and secondary schools. It is important that a forum such as this maiden one is organized regularly to bring together various

It is my hope that by the end of this congress, you would not only help in bridging the gap between management of Private Schools and Government in ensuring quality education but also in augmenting the PPP policy of government in educational delivery.

I would urge you to be deliberative on this critical issue and also to be forward looking in your request to be part of government educational policies

Thank you

A SPEECH DELIVERED BY MS. MONICA ANKRAH THE METRO DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION ON BEHALF OF DIRECTOR GENERAL OF EDUCATION AT THE GNACOPS MAIDEN CONGRESS AND STAKEHOLDERS FORUM

A SPEECH DELIVERED BY MS. MONICA ANKRAH THE METRO DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AT THE GNACOPS MAIDEN CONGRESS AND
STAKEHOLDERS FORUM AT THE KUMASI GOLDEN TULIP HOTEL ON FRIDAY 19TH OF JANUARY 2018 .

Mr. Chairman, The representative of the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, . The Hon. Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, the Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei Mensah, The Metropolitan Chief Executive, Hon. Osei Asibey Antwi, All other Government Officials herein present. The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, Hon. Siaka Stevens, ,The representative of His Royal Majesty , the Asantehene, Nananom, Owners and proprietors of private schools , Managers, Headmasters, Educational consultants, Parents, teachers, invited Guest, Ladies and Gentlemen and the media .
I am highly honored to be called upon to deliver a speech on behalf of the Director General of Education service on the theme "Reshaping Public-Private Partnership in effective Education delivery; the role of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools.
Mr. Chairman, It is indeed an open secret that the Central Government alone cannot and must not be allowed to shoulder all the responsibilities of bringing quality education delivery in a Country where education is crucial. This therefore calls for a conscious and deliberate effort to create the right enabling environment for that marriage to flourish between public and private institutions for the delivery of quality education.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is gratifying to note that GNACOPS have already taken the lead by bringing Private Basic and Second Cycle school owners, managers, Headmasters, teachers and Parents, under one umbrella. This will foster effective coordination and mobilization of resources for effective development of quality education at all levels. What is left for us is to offer the needed framework and support for it proper implementation.
Mr. Chairman, the contribution of Private individuals who invest their hard earne d fortunes in educating the Ghanaian child cannot be overemphasized. There is ,erception out there that "Private schools perform better than Public schools" though this is debatable, it calls for a sober reflection to ask why Public Schools that are studded with professionally trained teachers should be allowed to be tainted with such controversy when it shouldn't have come up at all. Is it lack of supervision, logistics, human resource or pure laziness? What is it that Private Schools are doing right which is lacking in the Public Schools? Perhaps the solution lies in proper supervision and monitoring. Private participation in education has increased dramatically over the last two decades across the world, serving all types of communities from high-income to low-income families.
It is a fact that there is private sector participation in Education delivery in Ghana. Therefore major stakeholders especially the Ministry of Education through its implementing agency, the Ghana Education service should make sure that the
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Directors of Education (MMDDEs) to assert their rightful place in making sure that ; the existing supervisory role is strengthened, by making sure that fees charged in private schools are streamlined, proper facility management is adhered to, the human resource capacity coupled with the remuneration to teachers in Private schools should be reviewed to help maintain good teachers in schools for the pupils to enjoy continuity in teaching and learning. Again, I wish to humbly suggest that it's about time we considered posting some of our national service personnel to teach in the private schools.
Mr. Chairman, as we supervise and renew the mandate of private schools to operate, the MMDDEs may include private school teachers in certain in-service trainings that are organized for professional teachers and managers so as to upgrade their human resources base. The provision of some teaching and learning materials to private schools could also be examined. To reshape the public- private partnership in the Educational space, GNACOPS should be ready to provide accurate data and statistics in their schools for policy makers to consider them in the provision of educational logistics. I will urge the association to be amendable in their dealings. In situations whereby some mangers and proprietors arrogate to themselves the sanctity of being their own bosses with the view of not taken any supervisory instructions from the officers from the Central Administration whose mandate is to help them to be on the same page in line with policy guidelines should be nib in the bud.
Ir. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's heartwarming to have constant

deliberations on the effective ways of greater partnerships for the mutual benefit of the Ghanaian child. It's about time private school owners and staffs see themselves as partners in development rather than outsiders. I humbly urge you that, should you have genuine concerns, the Central Administration of every Educational office or officer is on call to assist in any means lawfully possible in finding lasting and achievable solutions to problems private schools are confronted with
Furthermore, I wish to suggest that public governance approach that seeks to strengthen public and private collaboration through formal arrangements may be adopted to allow the public education sector to leverage private sector knowledge, skills and innovation through network collaboration. This will reduce the politicization of schooling. If this is accepted and implemented well, the fear that the advent of the Free Senior High School policy collapsing Private SHS will not arise.
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished invited Guest, Ladies and Gentlemen, as I humbly take my seat, I wish to remind ourselves that the reshaping of the Public —Private Partnership in effective Education delivery, GNACOPS role hinges on an effective
•collaboration of all stakeholders to bridge the gap between the management of private schools and the Ghana Education service. It is in tandem with this that the desired learning outcomes of which the child is at the center of the learning process would be achieved. I believe after this forum we would know the problems, challenges and constraints that confronted us in the past so that we would not repeat them, even if they come up at all, having known them in the past, we would be able to provide the remedies in order to make quicker progress in future. It is against this backdrop that I entreat all herein gathered to dispassionately keep identifying the gaps and make suggestions to the appropriate quarters for the right redress.
Long live GNACOPS
Long live MOE
Long live GES
God Bless our homeland Ghana.

Starting a private school in Ghana

Starting a private school in Ghana.
Ghana National Council For private school (GNACOPS)
 (Obenfo Gyetuah kwasi Enoch)

Starting a private school is a challenging process and generally takes no less than 2 years. Private schools often have high academic standards, low teacher-student ratios, availability of non-core subjects such as art and music and an emphasis on discipline, safety, community service, and values. Private schools can be proprietary (for-profit), however most are incorporated non-profit entities. The following steps will help guide you in starting a private school in Ghana 

1.Determine the grade levels for your private school
How many and which grades will you start with and how many will you eventually grow to include
Many private schools start with fewer and lower grade levels and add upper grades overtime.

2.Write a mission statement for the school to focus your reasons for starting a private school.
This statement will be the driving philosophy for your educational plans and a way together community support
The mission statement should include a  rationale for starting your school, your   school values, the educational approach, the curriculum focus and goals and planned out comes for students. The  vision statements will be the mechanisms and approaches that will be setup to help you achieve your mission or dream.

3.Assemble a private school committee.
The committee will eventually become   the core members of your board of  directors. Committee members should be experts in different areas, including education, legal,accounting, business and construction.

4.Research your state's educational requirements for private schools.
In some states, private schools are overseen by a division of the Department of Education. Other states such as Ghana have individual accrediting agencies for private schools,  while still others have no private school   regulations.

5.Create the business entity.
Determine if your private school will be proprietary (for-profit) or non-profit and register as such.
Most private schools incorporate can apply for tax- exempt status. File the appropriate paper work with your registrar general department,Ghana  and the IRS. Your founding committee
attorney should handle this step 

6.Write a business plan for your private school. 
Create 5 year business plan, including operational plans (such as financial and marketing) and educational plans (such as educational focus, curriculum, implementation and assessment).

7.Determine your budget and secure  your funding.
The budget should include capital expenses Your committee accountant or financial specialist should help with the budget,  or you should seek expert advice.
If you are operating as a non-profit, solicit contributions by asking for donations from foundations, applying for grants and establishing donations from private donors.

8.Find a location for your private school.
Locate a current facility or develop plans to build one.

9.Interview and hire critical staff members
The first 2 staff members you should hire are the headmaster and a business manager. This should be done approximately 18 months prior to the start the school so you will have experienced professionals to help implement the final steps to starting your private school.
The headmaster/administrator will be able to help you handle the educational and staffing aspects of the school plan, while the business manager will work with you on duties such as enrollment and purchasing

10.Promote your private school to prospective parents and students.
Advertise for students through community, church and service groups. You can also advertise through local newspapers and magazines and submit your school to online and private school directories.
Design a website that will provide admissions and enrollment information

11.Open your business office.
Begin the admissions process for students. Order your curriculum materials, furniture and educational 
supplies.

12.Interview and hire faculty.
It is extremely important to find highly-qualified teachers and staff, so be competitive in your compensation.
States vary in requirements for private 
school teacher qualifications.
Provide faculty training sessions several months before the start of school to familiarize the teachers and staff with the school,
policies, procedures, expectations, curriculum and your vision for the school.

13 .Open your private school
Plan your opening for when other schools in the area are starting. This is usually in the early  of September to begin the academic year.

You can seek further clarifications to help  plan and design perfect beautification outlooks for  your schools
Thank you for your attention.
Long live #OBENFOGYETUAHENOCH#
#GNACOPS#

GNACOPS, National Executive Director's Speech; National Congress & Stakeholders Forum

I bring you warm felicitations from the interim national executive council of GNACOPS. I am highly elated to be part of this day when a new page in the annals of quality education delivery in general and private sector education in particular is to be written. Education, has since time immemorial, been the vehicle with which humanity transcends mediocrity and primitivism into development. It is therefore a primal essence and a sine qua non to the survival of every race and people.
Today, we have met here from far and near to plant a mustard seed that will blossom into a magnificent giant tree in the never-ending endeavour for quality education delivery for generations yet to be born. This Congress, which is the inauguration of GNACOPS and a forum for stakeholders in education delivery in Ghana is under the theme: Reshaping Public–Private Partnership in Effective Education Delivery: The Role of GNACOPS. Participants will seeks to deliberate effective ways by which GNACOPS, representing the private school can augment the public-private partnership policy of the government in educational delivery in Ghana. We will also look at the necessary interventions from the government and other stakeholders towards mitigating the numerous challenges faced by the private schools.
The history of private sector participation in education delivery in the formal sector in Ghana, can be traced back into the pre-independence era with the establishment of the various mission schools. Now, there are over 22,000 basic and 654 Senior high private schools in Ghana, not to mention the number of private tertiary institutions.  In fact, one in four of the nation’s schools is a private school. With this statistics it could comfortably be said that at the basic level, more especially in the rural areas, the educational needs of the greater percentage of children is provided by the private schools.  Agreeably, private schools in Ghana has over the years been the backbone to the country’s foundation of education.
Over the years, there has been a very healthy relationship between the private and the public sector stakeholders in ensuring that in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of Ghana, every child have access to quality education. Today, private schools help fulfil the Ghanaians ideal of educational pluralism. A sector rich in diversity of schools—some rooted in religious traditions, intensive academic experiences and others that are specialized for specific populations. Whether public or private, these diverse schools constitute the Ghanaian educational expectations and experiences towards a common goal; the education of our country’s children. Together, public and private schools work to ensure an educated citizenry; together they strive to help students reach their potential and contribute to the common good.

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, Nelson Mandela, the former South African president said “Education is the most powerful weapon that can be used to change the world. It is no gainsaying therefore that quality education breeds absolute development in both the people and nation as a whole. In every human institution, time is likely to erode the initial focus for setting up such institution giving way to complacency and its resultant mediocrity. John Dewey sees education as “not a preparation for life but as life itself” as such, whatever knowledge the child acquires in school should increase his/her ability to exhibit spiritual and emotional as well as academic excellence. In recent times, the occupational demands of our society and the entire world are rapidly changing. There is a common saying that “you can’t use yesterday’s strategies to succeed in tomorrow’s business”. This and many other have necessitated a review in the instructional strategies in how we educate our children to suit current trends and to situate teaching and learning, particularly in the private schools, into global terms  .
It is against this background that the Ghana national council of Private Schools (GNACOPS) has been formed to be a mother body for Private Schools in Ghana to bring under one umbrella private basic and secondary schools managements, Teachers, Parents, Educational Consultants, GES private schools Coordinators and any individual or cooperate body interested in private schools operations in Ghana.
In the light of current global demands in quality education delivery, GNACOPS, aims at facilitating to make private schools in Ghana part of the global players in quality education delivery by:
• regularly monitoring and advising  private schools to deliver a challenging and innovative school and community based training that fosters all the skills and attributes outlined in the profile dimension of the curriculum to equips the learner with the relevant knowledge, skills and attitude for the their educational progression and for life.
• Educating member schools in accordance with clearly stated educational demands in order to help them recruit, develop and retain inspiring teachers, who are fully committed to the pursuance of innovative, values-driven, excellent quality, internationally acceptable education delivery.
• Ensuring the efficacy of an all-inclusive education by preserving and promoting educational pluralism to enable parents have a choice in the schooling of their children.
• Helping member schools to maintain a high academic standards, including the consistent achievement of excellent internal and external examination results, while continuing their commitment to an all-inclusive admissions policy.
• Assisting member schools to secure financial support, aimed sustaining sufficient reserves in withstanding emergencies and economic uncertainties. This will help to maintain their facilities and infrastructure required to support evolving educational and co-curricular needs, and the anticipated growth of the school.
• Identifying and assess on an annual basis the major risks facing the private schools and to ensure that mitigating action, including the preparation of contingency plans, has been taken where appropriate.
• Providing policymakers and other stakeholders with information on matters of interest and concern to private schools to ensure equitable opportunity to appropriate state education programs facilities for private schools.
• Giving legal advice and support as well as general counselling on investment control to management of private schools.
• Ensuring professional development of both teaching and non-teaching staffs by collaborating with the appropriate bodies to run periodic training and workshops.
It will interest you to know that GNACOPS is been run by a full team of seasoned interim National directors who will be sworn in at this congress to assume their substantive roles. These directors are in charge of Monitoring and evaluation, Research and training, data and logistics, corporate relations, guidance and counselling, programmes, legal issues etc. There will also be the regional and district officers who will be in be the liaisons between the national Directors and the grassroots.
In this age of cybernetics and digital information, GNACOPS is looking forward to disseminate information to member schools through its Publishing Outlook (a bi-monthly newsletter), periodic papers, resource documents, news releases and e-mail updates on educational training and public policies. To this end ladies and gentlemen, our web site (www.nacops8.webnode.com) is actively in place and plans are far underway for collaboration with a cable television channels (GEKAD TV) to communicate with the general public about private education as well as the running of educational programs.

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, private schools in Ghana have over the years chalked numerous successes. In terms of academics, private schools stand tall amongst all as regards to Basic Education Certificate Examination results. Many of the students in our secondary and tertiary institutions as well as a lot of well-meaning personalities passed through private school education. In the area of employment, the private schools employ a lot of teaching and no-teaching staff. In this direction, it could be said that most of the unemployed youth, whose situation could have given the government a great burden have secured various jobs. Again, the taxes accrued from the sheer number of private schools is substantial for national development.
 Despite these successes, private schools are bedeviled with a quantum of challenges. Major among the challenges faced by private schools are;
 Payment of property and operational fees
 Non-payment of school fees
 low supervision by Education officials especially circuit supervisors
 Lack of flexible financial facilities
 High attrition rate as a result of the Free Education Policy
These and many more are gradually threatening  the running of private schools in Ghana and  if measures are not put in place, in the next few years, private school education in the country would get to its lowest ebb as has started in some African countries. In the event of this, there will be a serious pressure on the government since most of the children will find themselves in the public schools. This will mean that government would have to put up enough structures and provide furniture as well to reduce large class sizes which is happening now in almost all the public schools. With this, proper teaching, learning, monitoring and supervision cannot take place in the school. It is my hope that starting from this congress, all stakeholders in the delivery of quality education in Ghana will kick-start into motion a system that will see a perfect public-private collaboration.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, the task ahead in ensuring a sound and holistic human development through education is a big one. To achieve our aim, we must be guided by Richard Riley’s famous saying that: Today’s Teachers are currently preparing learners for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist … in order to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet’
 In spite of the numerous challenges and the seemingly inadequate available resources, let us re-echo the old Chinese proverb that “it is better to light the candle than to curse the darkness”. Our collective individual strength will garner enough force to help us surmount every obstacle in our quest for an innovative, values-driven, excellent quality and internationally acceptable education delivery for the future generation.
Thank you.