Folks, I daresay that the path for long term sustained growth and development lies in focusing on our people; on educating our people…our human resource. We are always talking about our natural resources – gold, timber, oil, etc., etc. We don’t talk enough about our people; the quality of our people who after all, have to manage these resources. Certainly no one can doubt the connection between well educated people and the quality of the management of those natural resources for the collective good.

Actually on second thoughts, I think we realize it somehow. Ask the political parties and they will tell you every research survey shows how highly the need for education is ranked by the people.

That’s where the clamor for FREE SHS comes from; and it’s long overdue. The framers of our constitution didn’t put FCUBE (Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education) in there for nothing. 

The point is this: we want our people whether they have the money or not to have a minimum level of education (12 years: 6 years in primary and 6 years in secondary education) that enables them to read and write, manipulate numbers and think critically. A basic education. All other things remaining equal, young people who complete 12 years of education are more mature, have more skills and experience and are certainly more valuable to employers than those who only complete 9 years. This is the practice in any developed country with solid educational structures; Singapore, Australia, UK, Canada. Any less than that, and a country is going nowhere with its workforce… or it could go somewhere for the small band of “knowledgeable” people, while the rest look on hopelessly and point fingers.

Surely, our politicians must now approach the matter of free senior high school education from a bipartisan basis to make sure we move on from this very fundamental matter to other important interventions in education that need even more attention; curriculum, for example. The sooner we can really do something positive about Curriculum, the better. Curriculum is the heart of any learning institution. Its purpose is to drive learning and its nature must be dynamic. After all, if curriculum drives learning (the acquisition of skills and knowledge), and learning  drives development, then the needs of society must drive school’s curricula. Curriculum cannot only be about learners and teachers and schools; it is about the development of society in general.

I like what Ken Ofori Atta, our new Minister for Finance said when he presented the budget:

“Outlining government’s vision for the Education sector, Mr Ofori-Atta noted that the Education system would shift away from merely passing examinations to building character, nurturing values and raising literate, confident and engaged citizens who can think critically.”

This is a vision for education that seeks not only to nurture academic success, but to develop worthwhile citizens of the nation; after all, what is the purpose of education? In my view it is to support children in developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable them to become responsible, informed, contributing citizens of their communities and country. The question is, how do we do this?

In the end, as the famous education philosopher, Freire says: “The authenticity of a teacher’s thinking is authenticated by the authenticity of the student’s learning.” We almost have to start from the end result we seek and work our way backwards. What do we want to achieve? What do we want our children to be like as educated people? How will we know that we have achieved our purpose? The quality of our thinking, of our actions and decisions, and of the lives of our citizenry should reveal the end result we seek, so that when a Ghanaian calls him- or herself educated, the risks we endure on a daily basis on our roads alone will decline. The driver will have a better sense of how close the other car is because he can measure. Have you seen the post going around on WhatsApp with drivers being interviewed about the meaning of road signs? Where impending curves are interpreted as a sign of the presence of snakes?

In my view Ghana has regressed in several respects and to risk making an overstatement, I pin this largely on the failure of our Educational policy. Yes we increased the numbers of student enrolment but we also diluted the system because we ignored the quality of the service and failed to provide the necessary resources. We built a system of shortcuts and quick fixes. In the end, our country is not able to leverage its full potential because much of what we see is hollow. We are all suffering from what has happened in Education over the last 30 or more years. We have to fix it. It affects everything we do. For example there can be no financial literacy without literacy.

As for the BECE, I’ve never understood it. You take this exam after three years of secondary school to qualify to go to the other half of secondary school. Frankly it’s worth scrapping. A JHS certificate is taking you nowhere. Honestly, we should not be certifying students that early. All Ghanaians must do a minimum of senior secondary education if they are to be useful citizens of our potentially great nation. Otherwise all these universities and law degrees will continue to fuel a lawless society, which is what we are in many respects.

We must build bottom up. Let’s guarantee basic education for all our people. Don’t worry about the term ‘free SHS’. It’s a red herring. It’s focused the whole discussion on money – or is it the supposed lack of it? This is too important to get bogged down in endless debate about where the money will come from. As they say, “where there is a will, there is a way”.

Just so the country can boast of having a “minimum kind of person”. It’s about educating the brain.

That is all.