The Poor Quality of Education in Ghana
Ghana Licensure Examinations Expose Ghana’s Poor Quality of Education
On June 5, 2024, I came across this article titled “Anybody who fails teacher licensure exams shouldn’t be allowed to take it again – EduWatch boss” on Ghana Web, in which the executive director of African Education Watch (EduWatch), Kofi Asare, expressed the idea in the title of the article. Mr. Asare is quoted to have said that, “Once you demonstrate the incapacity to read and write or demonstrate low proficiency in the English Language, that should be it. You cannot learn English in tertiary education, so that should be the end.” I totally agree with Mr. Asare’s assertion that tertiary education is not the place to learn to speak or write good English. Once a solid foundation has not been laid by the time of completing Senior High School (SHS), it becomes almost hopeless. However, since other reasons may account for the failure in the licensure examinations, I cannot agree to the idea of not allowing for re-sit in the teacher licensure examinations in its entirety. For example, a candidate could be sick during the examinations and so unable to do well. However, it is noteworthy that the Ghana teacher licensure examinations has exposed the problem in the Ghanaian education system. Citi Newsroom reported that 47.4% of the 2023 teacher licensure examinations candidates failed. This is a massive failure considering the fact that they are tested on competencies based on which they were awarded certificates/degrees by the various training institutions.
The Reality on the Ground
It is not a secret that many Ghanaian graduates cannot express themselves well in the English language, which is the language we school and work in; and this is not just about teachers but other professions as well. It is not only speaking that is a problem, but reading and understanding as well. I heard a complaint from a basic 1 teacher that two diploma in education graduates who were assigned to her class for national service declined teaching any of the subjects assigned to them because they did not know the subject matter. When they were advised to read the textbooks, they complained that they did not understand the textbooks. How is it that a diploma holder is unable to understand a basic 1 textbook? This beats my imagination.
Below is a test script of a college of education student.
As can be seen in the test script, this student cannot spell simple words such as beriberi, coronavirus (was this student in this world all the while people were talking and writing about coronavirus?), potential, energy, elastic, sources, replace, rolling, hands and after. The question is: how did this student even get into the college in the first place?
The above two examples confirm that extremely poor students are being fed into the teacher education institutions and same produced: garbage in, garbage out. A valid questions is: Why aren’t these students withdrawn if they are discovered to lack the necessary ability to progress as testified to in the test script above? We will explore this question later in this article. The immediate question I would like to address is: what are the factors that account for the low quality of education in Ghana as a whole? Yes, the quality of education in Ghana is low. A 3news.com report on May 11, 2024, referred to a Legatum Prosperity Index which placed Ghana’s secondary education on 166th and its tertiary education on 94th out of 167 countries, giving Ghana an average position of 137. This shows how far Ghana’s education system is behind others’.
Factors accounting for the poor quality of education in Ghana
Unavailability of Teaching and Learning Materials (TLMs) and Tools
Majority of classrooms in Ghana lack any sort of TLMs to help teachers to deliver lessons effectively. It can be recalled that when the new curriculum for basic schools was introduced in 2019, teachers complained of unavailability of textbooks that would provide them with the necessary content guidance for teaching. Internet services provided to SHSs, which are supposed to help in research and learning, have become white elephants in most schools, according to a report by myjoyonline.com. Teachers cannot be expected to use their own money to provide TLMs for their learners, especially when the Ghanaian teacher is not under-paid.
Inadequate Supply of Furniture
There are still schools in Ghana where learners are crammed onto small chairs, and some have to sit or lie down on the bare floor or ground to learn. With such deplorable conditions, one does not expect the learners’ minds to be at ease to learn. One does not expect the learner to be motivated to learn.
Inadequate Provision of Classrooms and Teachers
In this age, there are still schools in which lessons are held under trees or in deplorable classrooms that many people would be scared to enter. Once in a while, we hear about some of these buildings collapsing and killing school children. When teachers’ and pupils’ attention are focused on the state of their classroom, and the danger they find themselves in when there is strong wind or rain, teaching and learning cannot be effective. Many schools, especially in the rural areas, are inadequately staffed. You can have only two teachers manning a whole basic school, i.e. basic 1 to basic 9. How can learners possibly receive proper attention in these situations?
High Student-Teacher Ratio
Where teachers in other places are complaining about a class size of 34 being a large class, in Ghana, there are still classes that have over 100 learners. Even where 2 or 3 teachers are assigned to the class, there’s still the issue of space. In such class, the learners are crammed together so much that even walking around is difficult, not to mention arranging them for activities. Such large class sizes affect class control, the ability of teachers to attend to individual learners, teachers’ ability to properly assess learners, etc.
Inadequate Teacher Motivation
Adequate pay is one of the primary motivational factors for any worker, the teacher being no exception. Most people take up employment because of the pay. Even teachers who enter the profession for the love of it will not want to finish the work they so love and go hope to sleep hungry. From the number of threats of strike or actual strikes Ghanaian teachers at all levels have embarked on, it can be deduced that the Ghanaian teacher is very dissatisfied with their remuneration. Aside the remuneration, the issues of unavailability of TLMs and Tools, inadequate supply of furniture, inadequate provision of classrooms and teachers, and high student-teacher ratio are also major sources of demotivation to teachers.
Lack of Effective Supervision
Education directorates often complain of inadequate funds to run the directorates properly. This trickles down to the staff responsible for monitoring and supervision, the circuit supervisors. Because of lack of adequate funds for these field officers, they’re often unable to do proper monitoring and supervision. Aside funding, some field officers appear not to take their jobs serious. There are reports of teachers who cannot prepare lesson plans; some who cannot even close their class registers, a task I was carrying out when I was in primary 5, yet circuit supervisors monitor and supervise these teachers without reporting them. Another possible explanation is that directors do not act on circuit supervisors’ reports, so they find no benefit in reporting. These issues need to be investigated and tackled properly. A lot of teachers neglect their classes and sit under trees chatting, engage in business or other reasons. Circuit supervisors and directors are aware of all these happenings but you never hear of teachers being punished for these serious offences.
Lack of Interest in Quality Education
No one seems to care about the education system in this country. When basic needs such as those enumerated above are sorely lacking in the education system, you see the ministry of education bringing up policies that can only be built upon the foundation laid by basic needs. The recent introduction of the one student, one tablet for SHS students (I expressed my opinion about this matter earlier) is a prominent sign. There’s no way such an initiative can succeed when there is no solid foundation for it to thrive on. A second telltale sign of lack of interest in quality education in this country is the schools internet project mentioned above. Money that could have been used to provide basic needs for the education system was spent to install network infrastructure in schools, which were connected to the internet but the internet service was constantly absent or unusable. A third sign is the apparent lack of interest in motivating teachers to put up their best. Teachers are under-paid and denied most of the allowances they’re entitled to. Not only that, teachers are also oppressed. During a recent pre-tertiary teachers’ strike in March 2024, Graphic Online, My Joy Online, Ghana Web and other news outlets reported that the Ghana Education Service (GES) instructed heads of schools to keep schools open, when the heads themselves were members of the striking associations. This showed the GES’ insensitivity towards the rights of the heads. A fourth sign is the number of strikes and threats of strike observed in this country. A case in point is Colleges of Education Teachers Association (CETAG) gearing up for a strike as I write this article. Two labour experts I have heard speak on the matter have unequivocally blamed the employer for handling CETAG’s issues with nonchalance and disrespect.
Moral Decadence
There is an increased level of moral decadence in the Ghanaian education system in particular, and the Ghanaian society as a whole. Because of the GES policy of no corporal punishment, coupled with poor supervision as I enumerated above, learners no longer pay attention to teachers’ instructions. The Ghanaian society in general is losing its moral values. Cheating and dishonesty are no longer foreigners in our land. Honesty and patriotism are no longer celebrated. Students are cheating to pass examinations; teachers and invigilators are helping students to cheat in examinations; parents are buying leaked question papers and results for their wards; admissions are being rigged; protocols have taken over the admission process. No wonder a student like the one whose test script is illustrated above was able to gain entry into a college of education.
Uncontrolled Use of Technology
Technology, as everyone will agree, has made its share of contribution to the development and progress of education all over the world. Notwithstanding its benefits, it can harm its users when abused. Many young people in the Ghanaian society cannot be exonerated from the misuse of technology. From spending too much time watching movies to chatting on social media, the youth waste valuable time engaging in online activities which are detrimental to their educational progress, therefore negatively impacting their academic performance.
Government Policies/Misplaced Priorities
Policies such as banning of corporal punishment has resulted in a weak moral system. Even though corporal punishment has caused harm to some people in the past and even caused some people to drop out of school, it has always been a few educators abusing it. There are also a lot of people who can testify that were it not for corporal punishment, they would never have become responsible people in society. The removal of corporal punishment may help keep more students in school, but it has ended up causing a weakening in the academic success of more students. What needs to be done is to reinstate corporal punishment but ensure strict supervision to prevent its abuse.
Other government policies such as the schools internet project, and one student, one tablet project, which see government spend money which come to nothing, hurt the education system. Such monies could be used to provide more classrooms, more furniture and TLMs, and hire more teachers, or pay the existing teachers better to motivate them, or resource education directorates to improve monitoring and supervision. Another policy that has contributed to decreased academic output from some students is the ban on repetition of students. This forces teachers to push students who are not ready for the next level. The students are unable to cope with the work of that level but are pushed further along. Eventually these students get into teacher training institutions with weak or purchased grades, or grades obtained through other dishonest means.
Blaming Teachers for Students’ Failure
Teachers are often at the receiving end when students fail. It is true that teachers can, and do, contribute to the failure of students. However, sometimes the public’s or authorities’ reaction is as if the student or other factors cannot be responsible or contribute to the failure of students. I often hear students say, “I have passed” when they pass, but say, “The teacher failed me” when they fail. Passing is seen as a result of the student’s efforts, but failure is seen as the fault of the teacher. Most of the factors contributing to the failure of the Ghanaian academic system as listed above are outside of the teacher. The blame on the teacher for students’ failure should therefore be measured. It is in trying to avoid this blame that teachers forcefully pass students who otherwise should have failed.
Use of Pidgin English and Shorthand Spelling
Today’s Ghanaian youth at all levels of education have replaced proper English with pidgin English. They are heard speaking pidgin English at the least opportunity. They are seen writing pidgin English and using shorthand spelling on all social media platforms. Since it is said that “Practice makes perfect”, they perfect themselves in pidgin English and shorthand spelling to the detriment of proper English sentence construction and spelling. They often engage in this practice when they have not yet had a firm grasp of the English language. Eventually, their English sentence construction and spelling takes a downward spiral, leaving them in difficulty expressing themselves intelligibly in proper English and spelling even simple words correctly, as can be seen in the exhibit above.
Weak Entry Behaviours
Students enter different levels of education not adequately prepared. Because of other problems discussed above, it becomes a trend, with cumulative effect. As students enter one level after another unprepared, they keep falling behind and unable to meet the demands of the higher levels. Once it has become a nation-wide problem, it has led to the standards being relaxed at all levels to accommodate the inabilities of the students.
How are Weak Students Able to Go Through the Teacher Training Institutions
Now lets tackle the question of how such very weak students are able to bypass all the test mechanisms of the teacher training institutions and graduate. Having been a tertiary student and now a tertiary educationist, I can confidently say that I have a fare idea of what goes on in the tertiary space.
The following may be an exposé, since it reveals some of the flaws of the tertiary education systems in Ghana and the tertiary education teachers of Ghana, as well as some of the dirty things that go on in the tertiary space of Ghana. However be aware that, based on some of the factors accounting for poor quality of education discussed above, the actions of the tertiary teachers may not be without just cause.
Misplaced kindness
I have heard some tertiary teachers question why they should fail students after their families have spent so much on them. At the very least, the family would have bought an admission form, paid school fee for at least a semester, paid examination fee and purchased school items. This is what I describe as misplaced kindness since such teachers are looking at the narrower picture rather than the broader picture. In trying to prevent loss for a few students, they end up causing loss for the whole society. Every teacher on the job who is not qualified becomes a danger to several generations. As a solution, very poor performing students can be identified at the end of the very first semester of level 100 and advised (through counselling) to seek out alternative professions. This is only possible if the right structures are put place and supported to work. This can reduce misplaced kindness since the students and their families would not have spent a whole lot. In my 17 years as a teacher educator, I have never come across a student who is as poor as the one illustrated above who has become significantly better down the line.
Lecturers give “soft” examinations
Some lecturers are unable to complete their course outlines. This is usually due to time constraint and workload. In this situation, they tend to do one or both of two things: (1) set all the questions within a narrow scope, (2) give one assignment and then repeat the same questions in the end of semester examinations. This makes the examinations easy for all students but for the most irresponsible of them.
Relaxing marking schemes
Because of the fear of being blamed for students’ failure, or misplaced kindness, lecturers often relax their marking schemes when students are failing. The students end up earning marks they do not deserve. As students become aware of this, they relax in their studies. Eventually, more relaxation of marking needs to be done to help students pass. It then becomes a vicious cycle.
Awarding undeserved marks
Students are often given marks they do not deserve. This may be the sole initiative of the teacher or at the pleading of the students. This is usually done to please the employer or to avoid scrutiny. Since no one really checks these scores vis-Ã -vis the assessed tests, the practice has gained grounds.
Reversing the Trend of Poor Quality of Education in Ghana
It should be clear from the foregoing discussion what needs to be done to reverse the trend of poor quality of education in Ghana. I will highlight the major interventions that need to be carried out to address the problem. The main cause of the poor quality of education in Ghana has do do with poor quality of the environment created for teaching and learning. To provide a quality learning environment for teachers and students, the government should provide adequate amount of TLMs and other tools such as internet access, furniture, classrooms and teachers. Providing more classrooms and teachers will ensure manageable class sizes for effective teaching and learning.
The government should pay teachers adequate salaries and address their grievances promptly to avoid disaffection, which leads to interruption of teaching and learning through strikes and low morale among teachers. The government should also provide adequate funding to education directorates to enable them undertake adequate monitoring and supervision. Monitoring and supervision policies should be enforced to ensure that teachers are not sleeping on their jobs. Furthermore, government should properly prioritize its expenditure towards and within education to ensure value for money. It should endeavour to first lay a solid foundation before investing in advancements.
I must emphasize that none of the proposed solutions above is an island. All of them must be tackled together to ensure success. For example, if classrooms are made abundantly available and are well-staffed, and schools are provided with all the materials and tools they need, but teachers are dissatisfied, teaching and learning will still not be effective. The same applies if there’s no effective monitoring and supervision, as human beings naturally gravitate towards relaxation.
Conclusion
The quality of education in Ghana is poor due to several factors, including improper prioritization, poor teaching and learning environment, and poor monitoring and supervision. However, the situation can be arrested and even reversed with proper prioritization, provision of good teaching and learning environment and effective monitoring and supervision. All hands must come on deck to build a strong education system to push forward the country’s development agenda, which relies heavily on education.