Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Clement Apaak has stated that the country's basic education sector faces numerous challenges.

Speaking on JoyNews' AM show on March 18, 2024, he argues that basic education receives less attention from policymakers than other sectors because it is not politically advantageous to address its issues.

This comes after JoyNews’ investigations reveal how first-year students of some senior high schools (SHS) across the country were forced to eat one specific meal for lunch and supper for an entire term due to an acute food shortage.

This is coming up in the latest Hotline documentary, ‘Empty Plates: The Free SHS Promise', which highlights the grim picture of the quantity and quality of food served to thousands of students on various campuses.

‘Empty Plates – the Free SHS Promise’ will be airing on Monday, March 18 on JoyFM Super Morning Show at 8:30 a.m. and on JoyNews channel at 8:30 p.m.

Touching on this, Dr. Apaak said that addressing challenges at the basic education level is crucial, as poor basic education can have a negative impact on later stages of education.

The MP emphasized that neglecting to address issues at the basic level would harm Ghana's education system overall, given that it starts with basic education.

The deputy ranking member of the education committee of parliament emphasized that ensuring that basic education is robust is essential for creating a strong foundation for lifelong learning.

“As we are speaking today, the capitation grant, which is the grant that allows us to say that public and basic education is free, is in arrears of eight terms, or eight tranches, and yet this is the grant that the head of basic schools, the headteachers, have to use to procure attendance registers, chalk, fix broken doors and windows, get mason to batch crack walls, finance sporting activity, or PE, and cultural activity.

"So, when there are arrears, it puts a lot of pressure on the head of the public basic school. In fact, believe it or not, these days the job many teachers dread the most is to become appointed as the head of a public school because of the numerous challenges”.

 According to Dr. Apaak, basic schools in Ghana are facing a crisis due to a lack of furniture, textbooks, and electricity.

He said that approximately 1.3 million learners do not have desks or chairs to use in school, and many students lack textbooks to support the new curriculum.

The MP added that the recent efforts of the Electricity Company of Ghana to increase revenue have resulted in power outages affecting basic schools across the country.

“So, the challenges in the basic sector are also enormous, and I am hoping that some day we can have time to delve into more details.”