Lack of management training for school heads worrying – Minister

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has expressed worry about the lack of formal training in management for most headteachers and headmistresses of pre-tertiary public schools in the country.

According to him, recent research conducted by the National Teaching Council (NTC) revealed that 94. 5 per cent of headteachers in public schools had no formal training in school management.

“This cannot happen in this 21st century that you can become head of a school without formal training in school administration,” he said.

Dr Adutwum disclosed these during a meeting with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating within the education space in Accra over the weekend.

The meeting formed part of the government’s stakeholder engagement towards implementing the 12-year Ghana Education Strategic Plan (ESP), which runs from 2018 to 2030.

Representatives of the various NGOs, including Child Rights International and the Ghana Blind Federation, attended.

Dr Adutwum said that the Ministry of Education, through the National Education Institute and the National Inspectorate, was mobilizing all agencies under its purview to train heads of schools in order to equip them with knowledge in modern school administration.

He explained that this was crucial because the education sector required the experiences of such organizations to champion the government’s agenda of transformational education for socio-economic development.

Touching on the National Standardised Test for all primary four students in the country, which started on December 17, 2021, he said it was to evaluate learning outcomes in English and Mathematics at the primary school level.

The minister said this year’s timetable for the test would come out early for primary two, four and six, adding that the initiative would create a system to ensure value for money.

He said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently broke grounds for the construction of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) School in Accra to reorient the educational system to focus more on science and technology.

This, he said, formed part of the government’s commitment to the advancement of STEM education, adding that “The government has commenced the development of 20 STEM centres and 10 model STEM Senior High Schools across the country which were at various stages of completion.”

Dr Adutwum announced the government’s intention to roll out the Community of Excellence Project to enhance literacy among children and ensure continuity of access to education of the younger generation.

The NGOs commended the minister for the engagement and stated that such collaboration would improve the country’s educational system.

Mr Bright Appiah, the Executive Director of Child Rights International, urged the minister to be proactive with the incentive to teachers in rural schools to address the attrition challenges in the rural communities.

Mr Peter Obeng-Asamoah, the Executive Director of the Ghana Blind Federation, appealed to the minister to include persons with disabilities in government educational programmes to ensure inclusive development.