A group known as Informed Teachers Network (ITN) has prompted the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NaCCA) about the pre-distribution of textbooks and the new curriculum for Junior High Schools before the academic season begins. According to the leader of the group, the GES and NaCCA have spent huge sums of monies in formulating the curriculum hence the need to provide the above-mentioned materials to teachers before school resumes. He, however, believed that what happened after the introduction of the primary curriculum is likely to repeat itself therefore the need for the stakeholders responsible to be reminded.
The leader of the group wrote;
The other day, a senior lecturer in UEW asked, “have you ever seen teachers going on strike or demonstration because there’s no textbook, TLM or other conditions? No! It’s always about money?”
A very nice observation indeed. But, GES, NaCCA and MOE should expect a paradigm shift. We are not ready to condone that abnormality anymore.
Asking teachers to go to school and teach without providing them with the very curriculum they would use to guide their teaching and no textbook is like sending soldiers to war without providing them weapons and ammunition. No matter the training you give them, they are bound to be defeated.
The same is happening. You spend so much to research and craft beautiful curriculum-a standards bases one for that matter but dragging feet in supplying the needed resources to drive its implementation. How do You expect to achieve your aim? You can’t pretend to know the importance of a timely supply of textbooks and other teaching and learning materials to the successful implementation.
We have managed two terms without it and it has not been a nice experience at all. We were only saved by Corona. We are not ready to do that again. We are not also ready to accept any more excuses because you have all the school closure periods to get the job done.
To cut a long story short, Do the needful or prepare for a sit-down strike. You can’t continue taking us for granted and later turn around to blame us when the children fail to perform to expectations. Give us the needed tools and equipment, if we fail, we would shoulder the blame professionally. We are ready to serve.
CREDIT: Hon Jerry Akporhor-Lead Educator @informedteachersnetwork
