The 26th Annual Endowment Fund Lecture has been held as part of activities for the 69th Annual Council Meeting hosted by the Ghana National Office. The lecture was delivered by Prof. Kafui Etsey, Lecturer, University of Cape Coast.
Speaking on the topic, “Treading On Slippery Ground: Calling Education To Account”, Prof. Etsey examined the various educational reforms that had taken place in Ghana. These include the Accelerated Development Plan in 1951, Kwapong Educational Review Committee Reforms in 1966, Dzobo Educational Review Committee Reforms in 1973 and the Evans-Anfom Educational Review Committee Reforms in 1987. He noted that the Anamuah-Mensah Educational Review Committee Reforms in 2002 gave birth to the Free Senior High School policy in September, 2017.
According to Prof. Etsey, although the reforms were expected to make teaching and learning efficient and effective in schools, expand access to education in Ghana as well as meet the human resource needs of the country, evidence shows that the purposes have only been partially achieved. Prof. Etsey noted that there have been structural gains in the educational system in the form of provision of school buildings, teaching and learning materials and the expansion of access to education. He also touched on the decentralization of budgetary support as well as an appreciable increase in school enrolment through the Free S.H.S. policy as some of the gains made.
Touching on the slippery spots of the educational reforms, Prof. Etsey indicated that since independence, the mix between politics and education has partly led to challenges in effective classroom teaching and learning. He cited the abandonment of projects from successive governments and introduction of new policies that undermine the previous ones as examples. To mitigate the slippery spots in educational reforms, Prof. Etsey was of the view that “politics should stop at the school house door and not enter the classroom”. He also noted that “educational reforms should be built on political commitment not interference”. He further added that research, wide stakeholder consultations and experiences from other countries will help achieve the desired gains in the educational sector.
The lecture which was virtual was delivered via the Zoom Webinar platform and streamed live on Facebook.