Vice President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Cabonu, is asking government to rather invest in sustainable intervention programmes in the educational sector, saying the distribution of free uniforms and sandals, do not make the needed impact.
In his view, such programmes only increases government’s spending and does not give value for money.
[contextly_sidebar id=”uxyFnsskleBcDCdrpUY32RCyMOrQwaOo”]Speaking on the Ghana Report on Viasat 1 Television, Cabonu said targeted implementation of the policies will be of utmost benefit to the nation, in order to cut down the cost of government expenditure.
“When we deliver free things and we don’t deliver quality things, at the end of the day, we would have to start all over again. Interventions are very important but I believe in targeted intervention. You make intervention to people who actually will value the intervention you make. So it is not every child in this country who would need free sandals, it is not every child in this country who will need free school bags, there are children in this country who will actually need such intervention, why don’t we identify them and target them and they will be able to appreciate it so that the extra resources can be pushed to other very important areas,” he added.
Free sandals, uniform
Government has among other intervention programmes in the educational sector, distributed free shoes, uniforms and textbooks to supposed needy school children across the country.
This, government says is part of its intervention programmes aimed at reducing the burden on poor parents and also to improve access to education.
However several critics including a former Minister of Education, Professor Dominic Fobih argued that such interventions only improve school enrollment but does not improve the quality of education.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana