Ghana Education Reform 2007

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS 1. Universal Basic Education shall now be 11 years, made up of: 2 years of Kindergarten 6 years of Primary School 3 years of Junior High School (JHS) 2. The medium of instruction in Kindergarten and Lower Primary will be a Ghanaian language and English, where necessary. 3. At the basic level, emphasis shall be on Literacy, Numeracy, Creative Arts and Problem Solving Skills. 4. After JHS, students may choose to go into different streams at Senior High School (SHS), comprising General Education and Technical, Vocational and Agricultural and Training (TVET) or enter into an apprenticeship scheme with some support from the Government. 5. A new 4-year SHS will offer General Education with electives in General, Business, Technical, Vocational and Agriculture options for entry into a tertiary institution or the job market. 6. Technical, Vocational and Agricultural Institutions will offer 4-year courses including the core SHS subjects. 7. Teacher Training Colleges will be upgraded and conditions of service of teachers improved, with special incentives for teachers in rural areas. 8. Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) shall be responsible for the infrastructure, supervision and monitoring of Basic and Senior High Schools. 9. A new National Inspectorate Board (NIB) outside the Ghana Education Service (GES) but under the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MOESS) shall be responsible for periodic inspection of Basic and Secondary Schools to ensure quality education. 10. Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) and cost-sharing at the Senior high and tertiary levels shall be maintained. 11. Educational services will be widened to include Library and Information, Guidance and Counselling and Distance Education. 12. The Private Sector will be encouraged to increase its participation in the provision of educational services. 13. Greater emphasis will be put on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Science and Technology. 14. Special Needs Education will be improved at all levels. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 1. At the Kindergarten level, lessons will be learnt through play with emphasis on Numeracy and Creative Arts. 2. At Lower Primary, English, Basic Mathematical Skills, Natural Science and the dominant Ghanaian language of the area shall be taught. 3. At Lower Primary, of English and Ghanaian languages shall incorporate concepts of Religious and Moral Education, Science and Hygiene, Life Skills, Civics, and Culture. 4. At Upper Primary, subjects shall be the dominant Ghanaian language, English, Basic Mathematical Skills, Integrated Science and Citizenship Education. 5. At the Primary level, Physical Education, Music, Dance and other Creative Arts shall be taught as practical subjects. 6. At the Junior High School (JHS), English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Integrated Science including Agricultural Science, a Ghanaian language, Technical, Vocational and Agricultural Education and Training (pre-technical vocational), Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and French shall be taught. 7. Guidance and Counsellling shall be offered to students at the JHS to enable them choose the right performances to suit their interest and skills. 8. After JHS, there will be two parallel streams made up of General Education. 9. At the Senior High School (SHS), the core subjects shall be English, Mathematics, Integrated Science, Social Studies and ICT. 10. In addition to the Core Subjects at the SHS, every school candidate must offer ONE of the following course programmes: Agriculture, Business, Technical, Vocational, (Home Economics or Visual Arts), or General (Arts or Science). 11. For the Technical/Vocational/Agriculture Education stream of SHS, the following broad elective areas shall be offered: Building Trades, Business Studies, Electrical Engineering, Hospitality Trades, Mechanical Engineering and Agriculture. 12. Curriculum shall be developed to meet the needs of children and youth with special educational needs. TEACHER EDUCATION 1. A National Teaching Council (NTC) shall co-ordinate and regulate Teacher Education and Training programmes. 2. Education-oriented universities shall be responsible for the certification of teachers. 3. Untrained teachers in Basic Schools will have access to remedial courses through Distance Education. 4. Continuous teacher development will be undertaken to upgrade and update the competencies and skills of serving teachers. 5. Special attention will be given to the training of teachers in Technical, Vocational, Agricultural, Special Needs Education, Guidance and Counselling, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and French. 6. Teacher training programmes for kindergarten teachers shall be developed. 7. Conditions of service for teachers shall be improved. 8. Open Universities and Distance Learning Colleges shall be established to train and retrain teachers. 9. Curriculum on Special Needs Education in Teacher Training Colleges shall be enhanced to ensure early identification and effective management of children with special educational needs. EXTERNAL INSPECTORATE OF SCHOOLS 1. There shall be an independent National Inspectorate Board (NIB) to formulate, set and enforce standards in all pre-tertiary schools. 2. The NIB shall operate under the Ministry responsible for Education, and shall undertake an external evaluation of all first and second cycle institutions 3. The NIB Secretariat shall be headed by a Chief Inspector of schools. 4. The NIB shall ensure that schools are inspected at least once every years by trained inspection Panels to ensure quality standards. 5. The Inspection Panels will liaise with Regional and District Directorates of Education, which will be responsible for all routine internal inspection and supervision. 6. The NIB shall make recommendations to the Minister on issues of quality assurance and set up mechanisms to enforce its recommendations. 7. The Board shall submit annual reports to the minister and advise on the formulation and review of policy on quality education issues. 8. The Board will make public its annual findings on the state of education in the country. TECHNICAL, VOCATIONAL AND AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (TVET) 1. TVET shall provide employable skills through formal and informal Apprenticeship, Vocational, Technical, and Agricultural Institutes; Polytechnics and Universities. 2. Pre-Tertiary TVET shall be provided at the flowing levels; Technical Institutes, Vocational Institutes and Apprenticeship (formal and informal). It shall also be offered at the basic education and as elective subjects in Secondary Schools. 3. The Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) shall be established to develop policy, co-ordinate and regulate all aspects of TVET. 4. Industry shall play a major role in all aspects of TVET. 5. Technical Institute training shall produce craftsmen at intermediate and advanced levels, as well as technician levels of COTVET qualification for the job market. Interested graduates could further their education at the Polytechnic level to take higher courses. 6. Vocational Institutes shall offer courses which will lead to tradesman, artisan and mastercrafts person levels of COTVET qualification for the job market. Interested graduates could continue their education at Technical Institutes level to take higher courses. 7. Agricultural Institutes shall offer courses which will lead to tradesman, artisan, and mastercrafts person levels of COTVET level qualification for the job market.   Institutes Agricultural Institutes graduates could continue their education at higher level Agricultural Institutes. 8. There shall be two types of Apprenticeship Training regulated by the National Apprenticeship Training Board: i. Formal scheme, to be made up of classroom and on the job training. ii. On-the-job training (Informal) under traditional mastercrafts person. 9. All TVET institutions, both public and private, shall be registered and accredited in order to operate. 10. The Competency-based Training (CBT) curriculum delivery methodology has been adopted for the TVET system. In this approach strong emphasis will be placed on students acquiring practical skills for employment. 11. The service conditions for TVET teachers shall be improved to attract qualified and experienced teachers from industry. 12. TVET shall be resourced and promoted as a viable alternative to general education. For further information contact: The Co-ordinator NERIC Secretariat Tel: 0244619596/0277430074 E-mail: nericmoess@yahoo.com