Educationist and former Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Professor Stephen Adei, has called for a renewed national focus on foundational education.

His comments follow a JoyNews Hotline investigation led by GH Probe’s Francisca Enchil.

The documentary revealed how some officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES), alongside supervisors, headteachers and invigilators, transformed the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) exercise into an organised crime syndicate – trading academic integrity for financial gain.

He insisted that every Ghanaian child should be able to read and write fluently by the age of seven if taught properly, but that is not the case.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, 8th September, Prof Adei highlighted early literacy as the most critical stage in a child’s academic development and the key to improving the country’s broader educational outcomes.

• Read also: Full video: JoyNews’ ‘Dark World of BECE’ documentary reveals how GES officials colluded with candidates to cheat in exams

“Every child properly taught by the age of seven will be literate,” he stated. “That is where we should tackle it.”

Drawing on his own experience as both an educationist and a grandfather, Prof Adei shared a personal reflection to support his argument.

“I thank God it is just by grace and what I have learnt, and therefore my grandchildren are benefiting from it,” he said.

“Every grandchild of mine by seven is literate, and from that time, even their homework is not supervised.”

He added that once children master reading and writing at an early age, they are able to complete their schoolwork in significantly less time.

“They can do it in less than half the time,” he noted. “So, we must go back to the basics and make sure it is doable.”