Stakeholders at the ongoing 2nd National Catholic Education Forum in Koforidua have called on the government to abolish the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
According to the stakeholders, parents and guardians should have the right to choose schools for their children rather than relying on an automated placement system.
The stakeholders are also calling for the abolition of the double-track system and are demanding a non-negotiable 20% admission quota for Catholic students in Catholic mission schools.
Delivering the keynote address, the Managing Director of the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province Partnership in Action (TEPPIA), Dr. Charles Abugri, called for the replacement of the Parents Association with the Parents-Teachers Association. He also advocated for a shift from grammar-based education to technical and vocational training, stressing the importance of investing in skills development.
“We must now put more emphasis on STEM schools. We must find a way to increase the number of STEM schools that we manage. We should be a bit more enthusiastic about TVETs. In three regions, there is not a single Catholic TVET. We have to redress this imbalance,” he said.
On his part, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, who represented the Minister for Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, urged participants to propose practical solutions to address growing indiscipline in Senior High Schools.
“The question I would like the forum to explore is, ‘How do we instill discipline in children without using any of the traditional approaches such as caning and beating? How do we look at it from a modern perspective?'” he questioned.
In his welcome address, the Bishop of the Koforidua Diocese of the Catholic Church and Episcopal Chairperson for the Catholic Education Unit, Most Rev. Joseph Afrifah-Agyekum, outlined key recommendations for improving education in Ghana and urged the government to implement them.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to expanding infrastructure, enhancing teacher welfare, and promoting professional development to improve the country’s education system. She also outlined key policies and reforms aimed at strengthening the sector.
“The goal of the NDC administration is to aggressively expand infrastructure, enhance teacher welfare and professional development as well as to increase investment in the sector for quality outcomes. We are also committed to achieving the full objective of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE),” she stated.
