Educationist Dr. Ahmed Jinapor has divulged that the private basic education sector is more effective and efficient than the public sector because the government is unable to fully support the free system in the public sector.
In an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, he explained that unlike the public education sector, the private education sector is efficient because parents pay for their children’s fees and that ensures that the private schools produce excellent results.
“I believe the private sector is doing well because the parents are paying for it. That is why there is a lot of efficiency. Where there is competition, and as a proprietor you don’t check that the children receive the best education, definitely, the parents will take their children somewhere else.
The truth of the matter is that if you come to the basic level we have what we call the free compulsory universal basic education. And when you have a situation whereby it is free then it means that the populace is not paying anything and Government is the one paying the school and the teachers. Looking at the economy of our type, then, it becomes so much overstressed. So most times it is difficult for the supervisors to have fuel in their vehicles to supervise those teaching”, he noted.
He contrasted the situation in the second cycle education sector by stating that the public sector senior high schools are performing better because they receive support from old students of the school and there are some charges levelled against the parents even though it is said to be free.
While commending the past and present Governments in Ghana for social interventions in the education sector, Ahmed Jinapor advised that the public education sector at the basic level can only thrive if we have a robust economy to support the sector.
“I strongly believe that the public sector will continue to have those challenges unless our economy is so robust to be able to take care of the needs of the teachers which in the near foreseeable future is not possible”, he added.
An Educationist and Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Professor Stephen Adei, has recently expressed worry over the poor state of public basic education and has called for a radical restructuring to revamp it.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah