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.
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