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
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