Ghana’s education system is faced with “major major challenges that pose a threat to the country”, a fellow with Africa Education Watch, Ms Claudia Duedu, has observed.

The professional teacher who has taught ICT and English Language at the basic school level for a decade told Korku Lumor on Class91.3FM’s morning show on Tuesday, 24 January 2023 – International Day of Education – that there is a gulf between the “amazing” paperwork done on education and the implementation of the blueprint on the ground.

“I don’t think we have made use of all the paperwork we have worked so hard to put together, on the ground”, she observed during a discussion with other players in the education industry such as Mr John Akwasi Amponsah (President of the Ghana National Association of Authors and Publishers), Mr Patrick Appia-Danquah (Deputy Director, IFEST), Ms Zainab Alhassan (Centre for Social Justice, Education Pillar) and Mr Richard Kwashie Kovey (Greater Accra Regional Secretary of the National Association of Graduate Teachers).

Ms Duedu noted: “We have contributed so much, in terms of paperwork but when it comes to implementation with efficiency, with equity in mind, then I can say we’ve done our country a little disservice because anybody, any professor who takes a glance at our new curriculum will attest to the fact that this is brilliant, this is amazing; it’s going to bring a lot of improvement in the way we see education, especially when we are noted for the theoretical way of instruction but then you go to the schools, you look at the teachers, you look at the resources that are available for them to implement this amazing curriculum and then you realise this is a stillbirth”.

“How do you introduce robotics and artificial intelligence in basic 7 to 9 without computers?” she cited as an example.

She said: “Apart from working with Africa Education Watch, we do a lot of advocacy; I feel it myself, I’m in the system”.

“So, the whole system of education, though we see very amazing works being done: free SHS has come, it came with its own challenges because of lack of extensive consultation before implementation; we saw this rush for the curriculum which was also implemented without setting the groundswell for the curriculum to thrive … there are major major challenges that pose a threat to this country”.