I’ll move Free SHS secretariat under supervision of GES – Mahama

The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama says he will move the supervision of the Free Senior High School to the direct supervision of the Ghana Education Service (GES).

According to him, the move will help in tracking the challenges that have bedeviled the implementation of the policy.

“We are going to mainstream TVET and STEM into all secondary schools, we don’t believe that STEM and TVET should stand alone as special secondary schools. We must mainstream them through all the secondary schools.

“So in this regard, we will revamp the science resource centers in order that clusters of schools can use those centers. The imperative of the Free SHS secretariat being supervised by the education directorate is our considered view. The Education Service which is an implementing agency has the capacity to implement the Free SHS policy,” he stated during an engagement with teacher union at the NAGRAT office in Accra.

The former President reiterated his commitment in engaging all stakeholders for an inclusive educational system in the country.

“These are just a few highlights from the productive dialogue we had. I look forward to further collaboration with teacher unions and other stakeholders to develop effective policies for the education sector.

“Together, we can build a better and more inclusive education system for our children and the future of our nation. Thank you to all the teacher unions who participated and shared their valuable insights.”

Below is the full statement by the NDC flag bearer

I had the pleasure of meeting with representatives of our Teacher Unions at the NAGRAT head office in Accra. We had a healthy policy dialogue in preparation for finalising our (NDC) manifesto. Here are some key points I shared during the meeting:

1. I emphasised the importance of conducting an educational reform in my first 100 days in office and the integral role of teachers in national policy reforms.
2. My administration will focus on adopting ‘first language’ as a medium of instruction from KG to Basic 3 and training more teachers in major local languages to facilitate teaching and learning at the basic levels.
3. To encourage reading at the basic level, we plan to build more libraries and resume providing reading and textbooks for all basic schools.
4. Timely disbursement of the capitation grant to education directorates and schools will be a priority, as well as removing the capping and collateralisation of the GETFUND and resuming the free sanitary pad distribution policy.
5. I will prioritise the revival of abandoned TVET and E-blocks in our education infrastructure drive to decongest schools and improve the quality of education.
6. We also plan to review and improve the implementation of the Free SHS policy, resolve its associated challenges, and mainstream TVET and STEM in all secondary schools.

These are just a few highlights from the productive dialogue we had. I look forward to further collaboration with teacher unions and other stakeholders to develop effective policies for the education sector.

Together, we can build a better and more inclusive education system for our children and the future of our nation. Thank you to all the teacher unions who participated and shared their valuable insights.

#TheMahamaPlan
#LetsBuildGhanaTogether
#EducationReform
#BetterFuture.

Source: Today.com.gh