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Wealth can be created through quality education - Bagbin
Kumasi, Feb 2, Ghanadot/GNA – Mr Bertinus Bagbin,
Offinso South Municipal Director of Education said the
government’s vision to create wealth could only be realized if
quality education was provided to all children without
discrimination.
To achieve this, he said, the Ministry of Education (MOE) had
placed emphasis on primary education with the framework of the
Education Strategic Plan (ESP) and the Growth and Poverty
Reduction Strategy (GPRS II).
Mr Bagbin made the observation at a day’s workshop for 40
Directors of Education and some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s)
in the Ashanti region on the draft Complementary Basic Education
Policy (CBE) in Kumasi on Thursday.
The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ghana
Education Service (GES) organised the workshop with support from
the United Nations International Children and Education Fund
(UNICEF).
Mr Bagbin disclosed that about 800,000 school going age children
which formed about 20 percent of national enrolment, were still
out of school.
He therefore welcomed the Complementary Basic Education (CBE)
system that would open up attractive and equitable educational
opportunities for the unfortunate children.
The CBE, Mr Bagbin explained, would provide structured
programmes of learning outside the formal school system to
enable them to acquire minimum knowledge and skills for
continuing education in the formal sector.
He said this would offer a second opportunity for the category
of children to access mainstream education.
Mr Joseph Kwabena Onyinah, Ashanti Regional Director of
Education said various interventions to improve access and
participation have yielded positive impact.
He indicated that with 67.7 percent completion rate in 2008,
there was the need to increase enrolment and retention to reduce
dropout rate.
Mr Onyinah, however, noted that it was not realistic to achieve
100 percent retention and zero percent drop out rate and called
for a convenient and practical system to mop up the school drop
outs and the school going age children who are not in school.
Mrs Comfort Bandoh, District Director of Education for Afigya
Sekyere, who presided, said the most challenging issue with the
implementation of the CBE policy was funding and emphasised the
replacement of cost–sharing measures with all stakeholders.
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