The government has justified plans to partner with some non-governmental organisations to manage some selected public schools. 

According to Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, standards have fallen in publicly managed schools.

Citing Kumasi based “State boys,” he lamented, “people are taking their kids to private schools.”

Explaining the new arrangement, Dr. Adutwum said the initiative, which is still at its embryonic stage, will have NGOs with the requisite capacity and resources to partner with government.

This partnership is expected to produce excellent results comparable to those schools owned by private individuals and organizations.

Dr. Adutwum spoke on the Joy FM Super Morning Show [SMS] Thursday.

Opposition from teacher Unions

Even before this policy can see the light of day, some four teacher unions are opposing it.

The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) and Coalition of Concerned Teachers said it empowers the private operator to decide if it wants to work with Ghana Education Service (GES) staff including heads.

“We see this as the beginning of the privatization of public schools in the country,” Mr. Angle Carbonu, NAGRAT President told Joy News’ Gifty Andoh Appiah on The Pulse, a Joy News programme, Wednesday.