As part of moves to boost educational development, Ghana will be participating in the 2022 International Students Assessment (PISA) programme, the Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has announced.

He explained that the move was not only to put the nation’s education standard on the international platform but also to help measure the knowledge and skills of students for the right effort and measures to be put in place towards improving it.

Dr. Adutwum gave the hint at a breakfast meeting with sponsors of the Ghana Teacher Prize in Accra.

The event was organized by the National Teaching Council (NTC) to show appreciation to the sponsors for the continuous sponsorship of the programme.

A total of 19 sponsors were presented with Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver and Bronze awards respectively.

The recipients were the Trustees of the Ghana Education Service Pension Scheme, Tertiary Education Workers Union (TEWU), SICLIFE, IC Giving, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Uni-Jay Foundation, Coalition for Concern Teachers (CCT) and Ghana Aids Commission.

The rest are National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), EPP Book Services, Innolink Ltd, Sabre Education, Investcorp, Glidco Pension, Data Bank Ltd, Petra Trust, and United Nation’s International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Prudential Bank

PISA is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and development (OECD’s) Programme for International Students Assessment.. 2021 marks its eighth cycle.

Every three years, PISA tests what 15-year-olds are able to do in reading, mathematics and science. The tests are designed to capture how students master certain skills such as reading strategies, problem solving in mathematics and critical reading in science, skills that are important beyond the classroom.

The Minister said, the government of Ghana was working hard to ensure that all Ghanaian children positioned themselves towards the attainment of critical thinking to enable them to be able to compete with children from any part of the globe.

“The Era of memorization should be done away with and let us see how best we train students to be critical thinkers to help push the nation’s development agenda forward,” he said.

Dr Adutwum said the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government was poised to put in place the right measures as well as the provision of the right resources to ensure that the nation’s education marched-up with the 21st century needs.

The Education Minister lauded the various sponsors for their regular support towards the Ghana Teacher Prize, which went a long way to motivate teachers who were at the centre of the nation’s education development.

Dr Christian Addai-Poku, Registrar for the NTC, praised the sponsors through whose effort an amount of One Million, and Forty-Five Thousand Ghana cedis (1,045,000.00) in cash and in kind, were donated towards the successful organization of the 2020 GTP which took place in Cape Coast.

He was upbeat that, the sponsors would continue to support the initiative which stood the chance of motivating teachers and other stakeholder towards improving the nation’s education development.

The GTP programme is in recognition of the pivotal role teachers’ play in education delivery.

Mr Nathaniel Otoo, Chairman, Ghana Education Service Occupational Pension Scheme (GESOPS) on behalf of the sponsors, pledge to continue supporting the GTP since it was worth supporting towards the development of the nation’s education.

He said a strong educational system instilled in all a sense of national pride, and its development was always a cause worth contributing to and therefore called on all the sponsors and others to continue supporting the initiative for the good of the nation’s future development.

“We pledge to continue this partnership for the development of excellence in education, as a crucial step towards the nation-building that is necessary for our moving forward as a people, ”Mr Otoo said.

–GNA

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An Educational Leadership Scholar and a former Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. George K. T. Oduro has said the successful implementation of the standard-based curriculum requires a new type of teaching techniques and logistical support.

He added that the standard-based curriculum seeks, among other things, to equip pupils with critical thinking skills.

This, Prof Oduro noted requires a paradigm shift from teacher-centred methods to learner-centred teaching methods. “I have no doubt that every teacher who has been developed professionally, knows the defects in teacher-centred approaches in terms of developing the totality of the individual”.

With the teacher-centred teaching method, he indicated that the teacher serves as the sole actor in the teaching-learning process and assumes that the student enters the classroom with an empty or blank mind (what John Locke (1631-1704) refers to as “tabula rasa” whose mind has to be filled with information by the teacher. “It is a preferred method for teachers who teach for exams because it promotes memorization of facts and formulas among children and prepares students to pass examinations.

“In matters of value-added learning, experiential learning and the promotion of critical-thinking and creativity in pupils as required by stardard-based curriculum, however, it is very deficient”.

The Educational Leadership Scholar underscored the fact that, in contemporary times, what teachers need to make the standard-based curriculum more impactful is a teaching model that places the student/learner at the centre of the teaching-learning process which views teaching as a facilitation act.

“Teaching is seen as a process of creating enabling learning environment for learners to acquire knowledge based on their own interests.”

According to him, the teacher acts as a facilitator and creates an enabling learning environment for the learner to explore, experiment, ask critical questions and reflect on issues. “It is associated with teaching techniques such as activity-based learning (ABL), competency-based teaching (CBT) competency-based learning (CBL); community-based learning, cooperative learning (which seek to link classroom activities with social learning experiences); experiential learning (which offers students the opportunity to learn through experience and reflection on doing); project-based learning and many others.”

Prof. Oduro, Dean, School Of Educational Development And Outreach (SEDO) made these remarks in a speech he delivered at the 6th Quadrennial (53rd) Agona Municipal Delegates Conference of GNAT Held at the St. Anthony’s Catholic Church Parish Hall in Agona Swedru, on Wednesday, 12th May, 2021.

Below is the full speech:

ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PROF GEORGE K.T. ODURO, PROFESSOR OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND DEAN, SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND OUTREACH (SEDO), UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST, AT THE 6th QUADRENNIAL (53RD) AGONA MUNICIPAL DELEGATES CONFERENCE OF GNAT HELD AT ST. ANTHONY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH PARISH HALL, SWEDRU, ON WEDNESDAY, 12th MAY, 2021

All Protocols Acknowledged

I am very pleased to be associated with the 6TH Quadrennial (53rd ) Delegates Conference of the Agona Municipal branch of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT). I am particularly intrigued by the theme of the conference : ‘GNAT @90: EQUIPPING THE TEACHER WITH CONTEMPORARY TEACHING METHODS FOR QUALITY EDUCATION DELIVERY IN AGONA. I thank the Executives and the Conference Planning Committee for the opportunity granted me to share my views on the theme.

Mr. Chairman, permit me to begin by paying homage to the Founding Fathers and other premier leaders such as Messrs T.A. Bediako, Paul Osei-Mensah, Mrs Georgina Baiden and Mr. Amoako-Yirenkyi whose dreams and selfless nurturing of GNAT have propelled the Association to its Stone-Diamond age, surviving 90 years of socio-economic and political challenges. This is an achievement worth celebrating. I say a BIG Congratulations to you , with Advanced Happy Birthday wishes.

May I also commend GNAT for moving beyond the usual salary increase-focused advocacy by choosing a conference theme that has direct bearing on quality enhancement of teacher professional practice in the classroom. In deed, the issue of ‘ equipping the teacher with contemporary teaching methods for quality education delivery’ as contained in the theme is central to Target 4.1 of SDG 4 which mandates governments to put in place strategies that would ensure that ‘By 2030, … all girls and boys complete free, equitable and QUALITY primary and secondary education, leading to effective learning outcomes’.

Mr Chairman, the SDG4’s focus on quality education and effective learning outcomes makes the issue of ‘contemporary teaching methods’ in the conference theme very crucial. We cannot talk about quality education and effective learning outcomes without reference to teaching. The phrase ‘equipping the teacher’ also raises some fundamental questions: (i) what is wrong with the current teaching methods used by teachers in the classroom’? (ii) what can we put in place to ensure that teachers in Agona East and West schools are equipped with relevant contemporary teaching methods for promoting learning among students?

Mr. Chairman, equipping the teacher with contemporary teaching methods for quality education delivery’ has implications for all aspects of our educational reforms because it all starts with the teacher. No implementation of teaching and learning reforms in our country can be considered complete or can be successfully implemented without reference to the teacher. This is because how the teacher understands a learning-related reform and how he or she implements the reform has a very great influence on the way students learn and the outcome of their learning. .

In 2019, we experienced reforms in the curriculum of primary schools that replaced the then objective-based curriculum with a standard-based curriculum.The standard -based curriculum seeks, among other things, to equip pupils with critical thinking skills. Successful implementation of the standard-based curriculum requires a new type of teaching techniques and logistics support. It requires a paradigm shift from teacher-centred methods to learner centred teaching methods.I have no doubt that every teacher who has been developed professionally, knows the defects in teacher-centred approaches to teaching in terms of developing the totality of the individual. In teacher -centred teaching methods, the teacher serves as the sole actor in the teaching-learning process and assumes that the student enters the classroom with an empty or blank mind (what John Locke (1631-1704) refers to as “tabula rasa” whose mind has to be filled with information by the teacher. It is a preferred method for teachers who teach for exams because it promotes memorization of facts and formulas among children and prepares students to pass examinations. In matters of value-added learning, experiential learning, and the promotion of critical-thinking and creativity in pupils as required by stardards-based curriculum, however , it is very deficient.

In contemporary times, what teachers need to make the standard-based curriculum more impactful is a teaching model that places the student/learner at the centre of the teaching-learning process and views teaching as a facilitation act. Teaching is seen as a process of creating enabling learning environment for learners to acquire knowledge based on their own interests. The teacher acts as a facilitator and creates an enabling learning environment for the learner to explore, experiment, ask critical questions and reflect on issues. It is associated with teaching techniques such as activity-based learning (ABL), competency-based teaching (CBT) competency-based learning (CBL); community-based learning, cooperative learning (which seek to link classroom activities with social learning experiences); experiential learning (which offers students the opportunity to learning through experience and reflection on doing); project-based learning and many others.

Mr. Chairman, learner-centred teaching is critical in terms of developing the totality of the child: the head, the heart and the hand of the learner. If the standard-based curriculum can achieve the purpose for which it was introduced , then the GES needs to create a support system that will facilitate the commitment of teachers to the application of learner-centred teaching approaches in the classroom. Teachers should be supported to plan their teaching in a way that would promote learner voices and hands-on activities in their teaching. Learner-centred teaching methods do not suppress pupil/learner questions in the classroom.

Mr. Chairman, one approach to learner-centred teaching that most teachers had taken for granted , but which the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled every teacher to embrace is e-teaching and e-learning. Technology has become a global intervention for managing knowledge. Teachers should therefore be equipped with requisite knowledge and skills for using ICT as an interactive tool for making students more creative and reflective in the classroom.

Need for Stakeholder Support

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, while I challenge teachers to internalize the learner -centred method of teaching, permit me to mention that the efforts of teachers cannot be maximized without stakeholder support. Teachers need to be supported to enable them uphold good teaching orientations. This is because no matter the effectiveness of a teacher, little achievement can be recorded if the requisite teaching – learning materials, laboratory equipment and professional support are absent or non-available in the school system. It is in this light that I find the situation where teachers had to facilitate standard-based teaching and learning without the prescribed books very unfortunate. Such a situation makes a mockery of the standards -based curriculum. It is important, therefore, that the GES ensures that logistics to support teaching and learning and the requisite professional development, necessary for enhancing teaching and learning for sustainable development, are provided. GNAT should also demonstrates practical commitment to the advancement of e-teaching and e-learning among its members by advocating for sustained capacity strengthening of teachers in the use of e-teaching tools. By so doing, the professionalism of teachers will be ensured as they cope with the demands of the standards-based curriculum.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that the way teachers conceptualize teaching and learning has a great effect on how they manage student learning activities in the classroom. We cannot succeed in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030 and achieve the goals underlying the standard-based curriculum if we do not adopt a more learner-centred and democratic approach to teaching and move away from the examination-focused teaching. We need to place more emphasis on value added learning-focused teaching. The GES should invest more in strengthening the capacity of teachers to enable them confidently integrate technology into their teaching and learning processes. Textbooks and other learning aids should also be supplied to schools on time . We must all acknowledge that implementing curriculum reforms without equipping teachers with the requisite knowledge and skills as well as logistics to support the implementation defeats the good intents of the reforms. Lets remember, it all starts with the teacher.

On this note, I wish you successful deliberations at this conference.

Thank you.

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A total 411 out of the 465 candidates who scored grade A in all subjects at the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), were students from Ghana pioneering government’s Free Senior High School (SHS) Programme.

Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, immediate past Minister of Education, at the fourth Session of the fifth Congregation of the University for Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) on Saturday, said 2020 became the only year 50 per cent of Ghanaian students scored A1 to C6 in all core subjects.

He said the feat vindicated the President’s commitment to free education-the lifeline to the nation’s growth, and which must therefore be given the needed support.

“This clear testament to the vision of President Akufo Addo’s Free SHS programme tells us that when we harness every child’s potential and put in the resources and hard work, we enrich our human resource base and put him or her on a path to progress and prosperity,” Dr Opoku Prempeh, who now heads the Energy Ministry, stated.

He said the potency of the programme was sure to exert pressure on tertiary institutions, and urged them to endeavour to harness the capacities of the “fine young minds.”

The Minister said as Universities such as UHAS strove to become world-class institutions, they must be considered as national assets helping to provide quality workforce.

He thus said tertiary institutions must admit students from all parts of the nation, and that “there should be no discrimination in the recruitment of faculty, students or management,” he said.

Ghana has been leading the WASSCE score for the past six years running, and the 2020 result doubled the previous year’s count of 220 8As.

Nigeria, Ghana’s long contender, claimed the remaining of the 2020 straight As.

—GNA

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