{"id":328116,"date":"2024-07-30T07:30:54","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T07:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/?p=328116"},"modified":"2024-07-30T13:50:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T13:50:03","slug":"education-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gbcghanaonline.com\/news\/education\/education-challenges\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister of Education Dr. Adutwum to speak on State of Ghana’s Education amidst myriad of challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Rebecca Ekpe<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Education no doubt is the backbone of every development. Education is fundamental to the developmental aspirations of every country, from the basic through to the higher levels. In Ghana, critical attention has been paid to the country’s educational system over the years, in a bid to remove disparities, encourage inclusivity, match industry and above all, bring it up to speed with current trends on the domestic as well as the global front. However, in spite of the many interventions to propel the best results, Ghana’s educational system is fraught with several challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inadequate infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to information available, many schools lack basic facilities like classrooms, libraries, and toilets. The inadequacy in infrastructure has been captured by the Ghana Education Service in its reports. As of 2020, 23.4% of schools lack adequate classrooms, and 34.6% of schools in Ghana lack libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teacher shortages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ghana faces a shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in rural areas. Due to the unavailability of amenities in the rural areas, teachers posted often do not go at or vacate their posts in no time. The authorities are on record to have appealed to teachers posted to remote areas to report for duty, often to no avail. According to the Ghana Education Service, as of 2020, 44.8% of schools have teacher vacancies. Furthermore, 15 thousand teachers are needed to meet the student-teacher ratio, and this is statistics provided by the Ghana National Association of Teachers in a 2022 report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Poor teacher training<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Teachers often receive inadequate training, leading to ineffective teaching methods. This anomaly became evident during the Covid-19 days when teachers had to resort to on-line mode of teaching and learning. Feedback from the teachers and students exposed a huge gap in usability. The statistics further speak to this as a Ghana Education Service, 2020 report uncovered that 60% of teachers lack training in modern teaching methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n High student-to-teacher ratio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another setback to quality education in Ghana has to do with the large class sizes that make it difficult for students to receive individual attention. Teacher-to-student radio, in other words, the contact time is integral in the education value chain. Clearly, there is a correlation between teacher-to-student contact time and quality results from students. Again, Ghana Education Service points out that the high student-to-teacher ratio translates to an average student-to-teacher ratio of 1:45, with 25% of schools having a ratio of 1:60 or higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Limited access to education<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with the current free education being implemented at Senior High Schools in Ghana, many children, especially in rural areas, have limited access to education due to distance, poverty, or some cultural factors. 14.4% of children aged 6-14 are out of school, based on data from the Ghana Statistical Service in a 2020 report. Furthermore, 25.5% of girls in rural areas are out of school, according to Ghana Statistical Service data released in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n