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Ghana took another leap in the development of its human resource base on Tuesday, December 15, when Parliament passed the 2019 pre-tertiary education bill via second reading.
The bill, when passed, would ensure that all Ghanaian children obtain a minimum of secondary education to enhance the nation’s human resource capacity.
The general objective of the bill is to provide a pre-tertiary education system to produce individuals with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to become functional and productive citizens for national development.
It would also establish a Service for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and deal with related matters.
The establishment of a dedicated TVET service aims to monitor and manage education in the sector, along with other measures proposed in the bill, to make Ghana’s pre-tertiary education system more inclusive, focused and efficient for the benefit of everyone.
The bill consists of two parts and a timetable.
The first part of the bill (clauses 1 to 54) provides for a pre-tertiary education system, consisting of eleven years of basic education and three years of secondary education in an upper secondary school or TVET institution.
It provides for the establishment of the Education Service as a legal entity and deals with various issues related to the Pre-Tertiary Education system and the Education Service.
The second part of the bill (clauses 55 to 95) establishes the TVET Service as a legal entity and covers all matters related to it.
The Program establishes the list of TVET institutions that currently depend on the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, which will be absorbed by the TVET Service.
The Sixth Clause of the Bill establishes the Education Service as a legal entity in order to provide coordination and harmonization for the effective and efficient delivery of basic and upper secondary education in the country.
The Education Service, as established in the Bill, will be responsible, among others, for coordinating the standards and direction for the effective and efficient implementation of the national policies and programs approved in the field of basic and higher education.
It would oversee all funds allocated for the delivery of effective and efficient basic and higher education, and would advise the Minister responsible for Education on finance, human resources, policy, infrastructure, logistics, and other relevant education-related matters.
It would also exercise jurisdiction in matters of discipline over the personnel of the District and Regional Education Directorate.
Pre-tertiary education is considered a critical phase in the delivery of education, as it sets the foundation for the preparation of students to enter tertiary education for future academic activities.
Given its importance, there is a need to ensure quality education at this stage, as any deficit could seriously affect the performance and ability of students to progress to the tertiary level.
That is why part of the educational reforms introduced by the government are aimed at ensuring effective management and supervision of pre-tertiary schools.
The reform has the additional objective of reorganizing TVET into a distinctive unit under a designated Service to ensure effective and efficient performance.
It is in this context that the government introduced the 2019 pre-tertiary education bill in Parliament.
— citinewsroom
