GES Director General advocates for good quality pre-tertiary education
Ms Benedicta Naana Biney, Director General of Ghana Education Service (GES) has stressed the need for the provision of equitable good quality pre-tertiary education to children of school going age, to transform their communities.
She said education enables communities to make choices about their future and contribute to good governance and sustainable development.
Ms Biney said education allow people to break through the vicious cycle of poverty and makes significant difference to girl’s employment opportunities, the age of getting married and capacity to make decisions about their lives.
She said this in a speech read on her behalf in Wa on at the 2013 Upper West Regional Annual Education Sector Review which was on the theme: “Promoting quality education in the Upper West Region ;a collective responsibility.”
Ms Biney stated that children needs to be better prepared by their schools to enable them read, write, think critically and solve numerical problems.
She said skills acquisition is the foundation on which further studies, job satisfaction, productivity and meaningful citizenship are based on.
Ms Biney noted that the five pillars which are being considered critical for the education sector to meet the Education for All Fast Initiative and Millennium Development Goals includes increasing equitable access to and participation in education at all levels .
This entails improving quality of teaching and learning, bridging the gap in access to education, improving access to quality education for persons with disabilities and improving management of education service delivery.
Mr Iddrisu Mahama, Regional Director of Education observed that lack of parental and community involvement and support in quality education delivery in public schools coupled with ineffective education management accountability systems affects the overall improvement in education performance for schools in the region.
He said education is a powerful socialisation agent for pupils, teachers, parents and the entire Upper West Community.
Dr Ephraim Avea Nsoh, Regional Minister in a speech read on his behalf noted that education is the bedrock for the development of every nation and its quality determines how a country develops or lag behind.
He said Ghana as a developing country cannot turn its back to the sector as it holds the key to prosperity.
Dr Nsoh suggested that the annual review sessions should be used to come out with pragmatic, creative and innovative ways to overcome obstacles in the educational sector in the region to improve academic performance.
Source: GNA