GES must come out with timelines on textbook supply to schools - GNECC

The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to come out with a roadmap indicating timelines on the processes leading to the supply of textbooks to schools in the country.

“At a press conference on September 5, 2019, held in Aburi, the GES Director-General avoided the sensitive issue of unavailable textbooks for the new curriculum.

“To date, there is no official statement on when textbooks will be available to Basic schools. This silence on the part of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the GES and Ministry of Education is unacceptable,” a statement signed by the Chairman of GNECC, Mr Kofi Asare and issued on Tuesday said.

Academic year

It said schools had reopened for the 2019/2020 academic year, adding that although there were no textbooks for the new curriculum the GES had decided to go ahead and start the implementation of the new curriculum this term.

“The coalition notes that next to an engaged and prepared teacher is a good and well-designed textbook. However, the Ghana Publishers Association indicated only last week that they are only now in the process of developing the content of textbooks to be submitted to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) for review and approval. It is after the approval that the books may be printed for distribution,a process that can take quite some time to be well-executed,” it said.

It maintained that all circuit supervisors must be trained on how to monitor and report on the quality of teaching in the new curriculum.

Inspectorate Board

It said although the National Inspectorate Board (NIB) was mandated by law to set standards to be observed at the basic and second cycle levels in both public and private educational institutions and enforce same through its inspection panels, “to date, the NIB is yet to train its inspection panels in the evaluation of teaching under the new curriculum though this should have been done before starting the roll-out of the curriculum”.

“We call for a more strategic inter-agency collaboration to ensure the right sequential processes for quality assurance in policy implementation,” it said.

School uniform

It commended the Ministry of Education for engaging the Akosombo Textiles Ltd to print textiles for senior high school (SHS) uniforms under the free SHS program, and that “this development is very much welcome, as it rhymes with his Excellency, the President’s vision of promoting made in Ghana goods to create jobs. However, Civil Society is very much disappointed at the Ministry of Education concerning the contracts for the new junior high school uniforms”. which, as alleged by the Coalition of

Textile Workers,

The statement called for a more coordinated inter-agency collaboration on the implementation of the new primary school curriculum and the lessons arising out of the avoidable gaps in planning must guide us in the review and implementation process of the remaining curricula.