The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Central Tongu Constituency in the Volta Region, Joe Gidisu has bemoaned the fallen standards of education in the Ho west district.
The former minister for Roads and Highways made the observation at Dzolo Kpita in the Ho West District, when the Parliamentary Select Committee on education toured the area.
The tour was to afford the committee the opportunity to assess and establish factors affecting education, especially, at the basic level in the area and subsequently relay their findings with recommendations to Parliament.
[contextly_sidebar id=”3Aix3ZUR0JfCDWWTHlIStyqWQdbs6uER”]The Volta Region was noted for being a region of great academicians in years gone by but this can no longer be said about the region today.
Various stakeholders have called for an urgent attention to have the situation reversed.
However, during the tour of the region, the Parliamentary Select Committee, took time to solicit information from parents and stakeholders in the district about challenges facing the sector as well as possible solutions.
Mr Joe Gidisu, who is also the chairman of the Commitee, blamed the falling educational standards partly on parental irresponsibility and called on parents to show more commitment to their children’s education.
He said “parental irresponsibility, let me use that word advisably, to some extent affect education. The parents and guidance here have heard it loud and clear from both their own pupils, and other stakeholders like the education directorate and other officers of the assembly.
The MP added that, “for now, having seen these things and getting the communities more awakened to the challenges and responsibilities, we are hoping that things will change.”
The situation at the national level is also worrying following findings by the Ghana Education Service (GES) that 98% of primary
2 pupils cannot read and understand the English language.
Ghana’s educational system according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) is below international standards at all levels.
The WEF in its Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 assesses the competitiveness of 144 countries, said the country is not sufficiently harnessing new technologies for productivity enhancements (ICT adoption rates continue to be very low).
On the overall competitiveness on higher education in the world, Ghana ranked 106 out of the 144.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana