A former headmistress of Achimota School has decried Ghana's current educational set-up as a 'pass, chew and forget' system - incapable of inculcating the much-needed survival skills.

"We don't have holistic education, only academic", Mrs. Charlotte Brew-Graves bemoaned.

Education is the latest subject under Joy FM's Super Morning Show's scrutiny as Ghana enters her patriotic season. The middle-income nation is celebrating 57 years of independence.

The present structure of education, which starts at the age of 5 years, consists of 6 years of primary education, 3 years of Junior High School, 3 years of Senior High School and 4 years University or courses at other tertiary institutions. The first 9 years forms the basic education and is free and supposed to be compulsory.

But many believe the educational standards have fallen. Industry has been complaining about the quality of Ghana's graduates, criticized as lacking soft skills and relevant competencies.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show, the first female Headteacher of one of Ghana's finest senior high schools believes, education is far more than chalking up impressive grades.

It must include pedagogy, which she explained as encompassing all aspects of a child’s upbringing from correcting grammar and diction to controlling his or her morals.

"If you only know your subject and you don't have soft skills you cannot survive", she emphasized.

A co-panelist, a former assistant head in charge of academics at St. Augustine's College agreed. Seth Kortei Kortey noted there is too much concentration on a league table of best performing schools drawn up annually after senior high school students sit their final exams.

"Students don't write notes, they are dictated to, that is not pedagogy", he said.

Children need to do sporting activities and sometimes endure physical exercise if his performance in class is not up to the required standard.

"That's not wasting the child's time", Brew-Graves affirmed.

 

The way forward

According to the retired educationist [Brew-Graves], giving schools back to the missions which set them up is the way to go.

This is because mission schools have values they intend to inculcate into students - not just academic work, she said.

Mission groups involvement in education dates back to 1592 when education had the spreading of the Gospel as part of its goals. They founded many of Ghana's top senior high schools.

"Schools should be given back because they have ideals in which they base their schools. I look forward to the time when schools will be given back to them [Missions]."

She contrasted the performance of public basic schools as against private schools and noted, the difference was because of a sense of personal ownership that allows heads to drive a set of ideals into children.

"Public schools are not doing very well, because headmasters are not been innovative", the retired educationist assessed.

She said the Ghana Education Service (GES) should allow heads to lead the schools in partnership but with GES.