Education system must be decentralised for better outcomes – MP

former Deputy Education Minister and Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa following reform in the education sector has called for the country’s education system to be decentralised for better outcomes.

In his address at a Speech and Prize giving Day he said “If government Ministry and Ministry of Education effectively decentralise, empower our teachers, and provide resources at the district level, we can have good outcomes.”

The past Deputy Minister for Education added that “Decentralisation would enable the districts to have a platform to discuss their plans and budgets and provide them with the opportunity to showcase their achievements.”

In a related development, the Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools, Enoch Gyetuah has proposed that the central government adopt multiple assessment strategies in the education system for better educational outcomes.

In a post sighted by AcademicWeek, he said the current educational system centred on the acquisition of knowledge and the ability to recall information is not doing students in the country any good, hence a need to review the system.

“The traditional educational system is centered on the acquisition of knowledge and the ability to recall information. This approach fails to consider the practical application of the knowledge learned in real-world situations,” Gyetuah noted.

The multiple assessment strategies unlike the traditional assessment the Private Schools Director said will take into account the ability of prospective students to apply the knowledge they have acquired in real-life situations.

Gyetuah said performance-based, portfolio, observation, self, peer, production and creative assessments are all various assessment the Ministry of Education under the auspices of the government can consider in the education system.

Stating long term benefits of the adoption of multiple assessments strategies, the GNACOPS Director said it will enhance learning outcomes, equity and inclusion, professional development and ensure curriculum improvement.

“Implementing multiple assessment strategies in Ghana has the potential to significantly improve the quality of education and contribute to national development,” the Ghana National Council of Private Schools official said.

To successfully adopt the multiple assessment strategies in Ghanaian schools, Obengfo Gyetuah said there is a need for the Ministry of Education to redesign the assessment strategies used by the institution mandated to assess learners.