A renowned educationist, Anis Haffar has suggested to the Ghanaian government to begin the decentralisation of the country’s education system where the various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) should take charge of the running of basic and secondary schools in their areas.
He made the call at the opening of the second edition of this year’s Extra and Co-Curricular Expo (ECCE) organised by Diffusion Brand Consultancy, which seeks to bring fruition to the dreams of young Ghanaians, who are seeking to give children a rich and fulfilling education.
According to him, the current education system which allows the central government to take the full responsibility of education is not producing good results.
Mr Haffar who is also the founder of GATE institute recommended to the government to decentralise the school curricular by allowing schools to offer subjects or courses which are relevant in operational areas, stressing “We should add local content to the curricular” in the country.
In a keynote address, the Second Lady, Mrs. Matilda Amissah Arthur called for greater collaboration between parents and teachers to ensure holistic development of children in the country.
She added that a holistic approach to child development seeks to address the physical, emotional, relational, intellectual and spiritual aspects of the child, was necessary to be able to grow and fit into society without any hindrance.
According to the wife of the Vice President, giving children the opportunity to learn beyond the classroom offers them a whole host of opportunities that they could find within the confines of the four walls of a classroom.
Whilst the classroom offers some of the above, the out-of-classroom activities in a lot of ways offer the emotional, relational and spiritual aspects, while hammering on the intellectual as well, so taking children beyond the classroom is like unclipping their wings-suddenly their minds are free to explore, they shed all inhibitions and even the shy ones open up and play together.
Mrs Amissah Arthur said: ” As parents we all know that children learn more when they are happy and engaged-it’s amazing how much children learn through creative activities and creativity has been found to aid learning, as well as physical development. This is what we want to emphasize, encourage and get our teachers and parents to engage in”.
She however lamented that these days the number of obese children you see around was alarming, stating: “Children are driven to school and spend all their time in the classroom. When they get home they either sit behind the TV or play computer games. Yes, the TV and computer games teach, but we should concern ourselves with what they watch”.
“Some of the children if not guided will create their own activities, some of which will be dangerous and deeply anti-social, so please concern yourselves with the activities your children engage in after school “, she stated.
The Principal Consultant of Diffusion Brand Consultancy, Leroy Ankrah said the second edition of the programme was themed ‘Going Within and Beyond ‘ because they have identified challenges such as low student achievement results in comparison with international standards, high rates of students dropping out before completing high school, many graduates deemed by employers as not ready for the workforce.
He added the 2014 ECCE built upon the theme of the maiden event, which sought to encourage a comprehensive re-evaluation of Ghanaian basic education beyond the classroom and normal timetable.
The 2014 expo was particularly focused on aspects of extra and co-curricular education including e-learning, libraries and research, leisure and recreation, special needs students, and health and safety, Mr Ankrah stated.
A medical doctor at the Princess Marie Louise Children Hospital, Dr Marilyn Marbell-Wilson urged authorities of schools to provide conducive environment for teaching and learning for students.
African Eye News
