The Deputy Minister of Education, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, has stated that government is leveraging on Right to Play’s teaching methods as part of its agenda to revolutionise teaching and learning in the country.
This approach according to him employed play-based learning mechanisms as a means of ensuring positive learning environment for the children.
In addition, it employs positive reinforcement, coaching and mentoring, leadership, and girl-child mentoring among others as part of the teacher-learner relationship.
Rev. Fordjour disclosed this during a visit to the Oshie Municipal Assembly Basic School in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
The visit was to enable him assess on first-hand how the introduction of the play-based approach was impacting teaching and learning in the school as well as the performance of the school children.
He said over the past four years, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with its partners had introduced very relevant methodologies in the way that children were taught in the country.
The Deputy Minister noted that it had been recognised that children learned through play and when they were involved in the learning through games that aligned to the concepts of what they were being taught.
He said pedagogies had been modified to include play-based across 2050 schools with more than 15000 teachers cross 55 districts in the country trained in new teaching approach.
“Government believes that all Ghanaian children are able but differently able, gifted but differently gifted and therefore we must provide the classrooms that were positive and conducive to support their learning,” he said.
To this end, he said government was working to remove all the obstacles in their way so that every child could make their highest dreams possible.
“Right to Play has partnered us and we cherish this partnership because children learn best when they play, children learn best when they engage or talk, sing, dance when every part of their brain is active and engaged in the learning process,” he stressed.
The country Director of Right to Play, Josephine Mukakalisa on her part said the day was to showcase the results of their collaboration with the ministry of education in improving education in the country.
She said the aim of the Right to Play as non-governmental organisation was to support government policies and strategies for the well-being of the learning of the children and their learning outcomes.
Ms Mukakalisa said education was not just instructions but designed to guide learning our culture, molding behaviour on the way to adulthood towards eventual role in the society.
“This mission calls different stakeholders to be working together and support government institutions, school administration, teachers, local authorities, parents and civil society organisation so we can achieve our mission which is empower and educate our children,” she said.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
