We the members of the Ghana National council of private schools (GNACOPS) will continue to concentrate on producing the much needed results for the much focused parents and guardians who are bent in seeing the smooth growth of their wards with the much needed and organized curriculum that will suit the current trends of education and the demands of the job market. GNACOPS, right from the national, regional, district and circuit executives have keenly stalked the sabotage nature of coalition against privatization and commercialization of education (CAPCOE) and the failed acclaimed teacher unions like GNAT, NAGRAT and TEWU.
They have failed in all the background activities to run down the private schools in our country and has now come out in broad daylight calling on the government and even international bodies to help them relegate the activities of private education on Ghana.
I will plead with my fellow Ghanaians join me in objectively analysing these few issues:
Output of Work:
It is very shameful for a group like GNAT to involve itself in this type of “dead on arrival” hypocritic and unrealistic exercise of NAGRAT, TEWU and the so called Ghana National Education campaign coalition (GNECC), a group that is supposed to have been on the neck of GNAT, NAGRAT and TEWU to perform their basic role of educating our future leaders to come around and joined these failed groups to fight private Education. This is a misplaced priority by GNECC.
Let's come back to the basic issue of output of work, why are we having many private schools in the country? The basic and simple response is that the GNAT, NAGRAT, TEWU and perhaps their newly found love, the GNECC have all failed Ghanaians totally. A critical study of the educational terrain, especially at the basic level, will reveal how these groups have failed to perform their basic role as teachers and education workers. Parents, who are looking for their monies worth and are concerned with the future of their wards are yearning for are opting for the multipurpose type of education provided by the private schools. Unfortunately most of the public schools see this as a mirage. Can the government boast of having full grips of education in this country should the mission schools collapse?
I am humbly challenging GNECC to urge GES to publish BECE and WAECE results each year and we see the rankings. GNECC should ask the members of the various teacher unions to tell it where the wards of its members attend school. The answer will be stunning. Ghanaians deserve the best child centred education and that is what private schools offer.
WHY MANY COALITIONS?
Leadership is very important in every part of the world and Ghana is not an exception. However in instances where a number of groups spring up to play the same role, it is an indication that the earlier group(s) has failed. GNAT should ask itself why NAGRAT was formed, GNAT should ask itself why CONCERNED GROUP was formed. All these groups are there because the so called mother group has failed them. The Ghanaian parents are much aware of all these failed groups and their activities which will eventually affect the final consumer which is the poor Ghanaian child who go to school to spend about seven to eight hours and receive less than three lessons.
There is too much indiscipline at our public schools and these leads to poor performance. I don't think any critical parent will sit unconcern to the detriment of my ward's future. Majority of the public school teachers mistakenly think that it since their salaries does not come directly from the parents, there is no need to not put in the much needed efforts in bringing up that child.
Inaccurate Statistical work.
GNACOPS as a council, having parents, teachers and others who have the interest of the growth of education at heart as it major stakeholders has since its establishment been regulating and monitoring the activities of private schools at all levels within the country. Ghana has ten administrative regions and over two hundred district, municipalities and metropolitans. It is therefore highly inaccurate and basically flawed for the unions, including GNECC, to use a population from less than ten out of the over two hundred districts for their research. This child's play research is highly unexpected from a coalition of educational unions looking at the fact that, the conclusions drawn is highly likely to have a great impact on education delivery in this country and for that matter, the future of the child. In this wise, Ghanaians should do their own judgement and draw their own conclusions on the diabolic activities of the unions towards the growth of education in Ghana.
It is also laughable how the concocted result of their study, showing a clear indication of non-scientific and non-academic research format, was conducted without consulting any of GNACOPS directors especially those in charge of monitoring and evaluations and logistics and planning. It will interest Ghanaians to know that GNACOPS has about seven representatives, five in each district and about three in each circuit in this country who constantly feed the national secretariat with credible information on the activities of private schools. If the teachers union agree to the findings of an armchair research purported to have been conducted in less than ten out of over two hundred districts, there is an indication of either gross ignorance on their part as to the numbers and activities of private schools in Ghana or, they are involved in a grand and diabolic agenda to cripple education, especially at the basic level to a halt.
Why Fight Education Output Fund?
As the gossamer falls of from their accusations, it gradually reveals their grand and selfish scheme. No well-meaning Ghanaian will stand against a donor irrespective of the sector in which the donor is coming to invest except the selfish minded Ghanaian. It is still a puzzle, whose answer should not be far-fetched, why CAPCOE and all the teacher unions who should have embrace EOF for Africa and Middle East, now vehemently kick against it? For the information of the general public, these funds are for institutions who produce better results in terms of education delivery, something the private schools in Ghana are doing with ease.
At this point your guess, fellow Ghanaians, is as good as mine. I can conveniently conclude that the research findings of GNECC, which has been endorsed by the various teacher unions is seriously not just out of ignorance or oversight diabolic scheme to cover up the non-performance of public schools in educational delivery in Ghana especially at the basic level. Instead of throwing dust into the eyes of the populace, I will implore GNAT, NAGRAT, TEWU, CONCERN and CSOs, with all the resources available to them, to girdle up their loins and work hard to produce better results in other to benefit from the EOF. It shouldn't be a case of not about taken "fat" inherited salaries but rather, the reminder that parents having their wards in both private and public schools sweat to pay them each month through the government.
Punch Below the Belt;
GNACOPS, after a critical study of the activities of private schools has concluded that despite the non-performing nature of some of the public schools, especially in the rural areas of Ghana, private schools should still charge affordable fees that any low income earner can afford. The accusation that private schools charge very low fees to attract parents is a blow below the belt and a drowning person's clutching to a straw in desperation. The primary response is that GNACOPS understand and know the importance of education on our part of the globe as such is placing quality education as a priority to self-enrichment. I must say that most of the category “A” private schools charge a lot of fees and insist on rigorous admission system yet a good number of parents who know the importance of good education enrol their children there. GNACOPS, therefore is looking at how the wards of the majority of parents who have lost trust in the public educational system but cannot afford the fees of the top class private school, to also benefit from quality education.
NOTE: to this point GNAT, NAGRAT, TEWU and GNECC in fabricating stories about private school education in Ghana should remember that it is NOT high salaries that brings high output of work but rather commitment and love for one's responsibilities.
The Ultimate Question: WHERE ARE THEIR WARDS?
To deal the final blow to the diabolic schemers, I would want to ask a simple question which will demand a silent but truthful answer. I want members of GNAT, NAGRAT, TEWU, CAPCOE and CSOs who are criminalising and bastardising the activities of private school education in Ghana to be sincere to their colleague Ghanaians and tell them where most of their children attend schools. Their answers will stun the whole world. I case say with all confidence that the greater majority of them do not believe in the public school mantra they are resonating. If they really have the interest of education at heart, I don't think they will grind the wheels of the public schools to a near halt and then proceed to attack that of the private schools which is steadily moving towards the path of success.
The constitution of Ghana is emphatic on access to quality education. One thing GNACOPS is passionate about, which also serves as the driving force for its activates is the statistics on the annual birth ratio and how many schools government built each year to meet the excess. This was an area conspicuously missing from the purported comprehensive report of the GNECC, with the heavenly blessings from the other teachers unions. It is still a puzzle how GNAT, NAGRAT, TEWU, to cover up their POOR PERFORMANCE have now gone to bed with GNECC to fight against the private sector that governments, all over the world, have endorsed as the engine of growth of every economy. If these unions, pride themselves as the overseers of the public school education, then it is no wonder that, especially at the basic level, things are not working even about 20% of how it should be despite the millions of the taxpayer's monies being pumped to that sector by the government. I can say with all pride that without the private sector, as things stands now, the foundation of education in Ghana will forever be weak.
I will rest my case by demanding an unqualified apology form GNAT, NAGRAT, TEWU, CSOs and GNECC, who by their concocted, scientifically malnourished and unacademic report on private school education in Ghana, have insulted the intelligence of the majority of Ghanaians who have benefitted from one way or the other due to the activities of private schools. They should know that most of the beneficiaries are now in positions of excellence in the running of the economy and other sectors of the countries development.
ENOCH KWASI GETUAH (NATIONAL DIRECTOR-GNACOPS)
0249641349.
SUAKA Desmond (B/A PRO)
0205881914.
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