Educational planners and policy-makers introducing reforms in the basic school syllabi should ensure that the changes are responsive to the national aspiration and also address socio-cultural challenges of society and the country at large.
Mr John Mensah, the Headmaster Mama Jane International School in the Awutu Senya Municipality in the Central Region expressed the need for broader consultation to arrive at consensus.
He speaking in an a interview, Mr Mensah said education reforms should also be sustainable enough to inculcate desirable cultural values in the beneficiaries adding that the spirit of patriotism and “Ghana First” cannot be overlooked in the
Mr. Mensah said although educational reforms had been introduced by successive governments from time to time, however, said “anytime it happens it should have that enduring feature which does not depart from the collective national vision.”
In an interview following the emergence of a student of the school, Safana Muhaymine Guro who on Independence Day, received the Municipal Chief Executive Award, as the first-ever overall best Candidate among six others in the municipality, in the 2018 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), he claimed that the original concept of the Junior High School (JHS) system had been lost.
He argued that the original concept which equips the child after completion with basic problem-solving and critical thinking skills, relevant to nation-building had been lost with the JHS level resigned to only a preparatory stage for the Senior High School(SHS).
Mr Mensah said measures being adopted should include a strong linkage between the JHS and the SHS so that at any point a beneficiary of the reforms can be useful to fit into society to contribute to national development in some form.
He welcomed the incoming reforms saying that it will go a long way to produce well-rounded students and promote civic consciousness among students.
He attributed much of the competitive excellence being recorded among schools and students alike at the BECE across the country to the long-held Independence Day presidential initiative, replicated at the local level that awards best performing students who excel in the BECE.
By Francis Cofie
