Is the provision of KG/pre-primary school education in Ghana - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

ISSUE/PREVAILING QUESTION

Is the provision of KG/pre-primary school education in Ghana optimally serving as a means to bolster the learning building blocks expected of its pupils; and going forward, how is wider government policy and private sector capacity poised to mark up this potential and promise sought of the sector's pupils and its purveyors?

ISSUES SPOTLIGHT

• Optimal KG Education Service Delivery

Decentralization Multi-sectoral Protocol, inclusive of the private sector

• Learning Building Blocks

Academic & Socialization Facets and the Roles of Stakeholders, esp. PARENTS!

• Government Policy

Governance Devolution Policy & Local Language Instruction Policy into Practice

• Private Sector Capacity

Capital & Capacity Resourcing for Proprietors & Personnel

• Potential & Promise of Pupils & Purveyors

Parental Investment, Local Government Oversight, & Community Participation

ISSUES FOCUS - ATTENTION vs. ATTENUATION

For the sake of further specificity re: the preceding underlined words 1. Protocol = parental, private, public, civil society participation 2. Role = parental participation in policy (e.g. experiential mktg. via radio) and teacher capacitation re: practice (e.g. Adidome R.C. & ref: UCC Primary) 3. Practice = an outlay for a KG Resource Center etc. 4. Resourcing = locally-based, peer-executed, “Folk School” approach 5. Investment = which invites the participation of WB, IFC, & Dalex etc. 6. Oversight = Private Consumption, Public Regulation and Civil Watch

PROGRAMMING CHARACTERIZATION

A protocol that will be cognizant of ownership for all actors, attentive to the delineation of roles for all stakeholders, imaginative as to how practice may be made perfect, clear as to how government functionaries and development partners may resource this protocol as it concerns, both, talent investment and financial investment, and whereby, ultimately,

• versight for all actors and stakeholders, especially at the local

level, is devolved astutely.

KEY - ACTUALISATION OF POTENTIAL AND PROMISE

All stakeholders…need to work together to help students learn. This includes…: helping with homework; buying or borrowing books to read; taking the child to a reading event; talking to the child’s teacher about learning progress; participating in parent-teacher association and school management committee activities; regularly reading to the child; encouraging a child to read; communicating high expectations to the child; providing the child with a lantern/torch/lamp; and relieving the child of some household chores or other activities.

(Source: Education in Ghana – Data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic & Health Survey; page 10)

LOCK: LOCAL LANGUAGE PREFERENCE LEARNING

(Source: Education in Ghana – Data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic & Health Survey; page 10)

LOCK: LOCAL LANGUAGE PREFERENCE LEARNING

(Source: Education in Ghana – Data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic & Health Survey; page 10)

BACKGROUND AND BACKBONE - KG EDUCATION

• Amongst the set of keys a child brings to kindergarten in order to open themselves

to learning achievement is the key known as language

• The key instructional principle that Government has been working with over the

past several years may be stated as follows: Children learn from the known to the unknown (i.e. local/home language to the unknown (i.e. English)

• A key argument that may be made is the FF:

A socialized child enrolled as an academic student at the KG level (Ground Zero/pre-Class 1) possesses a greater facility in an L1 as opposed to an L2

THE CORRECTIONS & THE ‘INCORRECTIONS’:
 GOVERNANCE DECENTRALIZATION & DEVOLUTION

• GGA is proposing a step-wise, scale-appropriate, district-level and sustainable KG

education regime and protocol which is more in tune with a district’s capacities.

• To that end we are encouraging:

An SME-level education service provision – proprietors of private KGs Approximate optimal pupil/teacher ratios – neighbourhood-scale KGs Economically-sustainable public sector leadership – training x partnership Operational & physical, and even intellectual (e.g. L1), accessibility for parents DEO & DA ownership over operation, direction and supervision etc. Cross-sectorial partnerships and participation

AN ENCAPSULATION : DECENTRALIZATION DEVOLUTION FRAMEWORK

Policy & institutional Arrangement for Decentralisation, Implementation District Development Funding facility Capacity Building &Human Resources Development for Decentralization Partnership & Participation for Accountable Local Governance A three-tier protocol that involves District Education Office (DEO) supervision and technical resourcing, civil society technical and financial resourcing as well as secondary service provision and private sector service provision. District Assembly contributions for learning

• utcomes testing.

Development Partners’ finance facility for KG

• proprietors. Civic
• rganizations (NGOs,

churches & mosques) underwrite education service provision and vett learning

• utcomes testing.

Select DEO teaching personnel do peer training for all KG teaching personnel and operators/proprietors. Civic organisations operate KG resource centers. PTAs of private KGs oversee the management of KGs. Civic organizations’ KG resource centres coordinate technical capacitation of KG teaching personnel as well as the continual testing of

• pupils. Assemblies

& the DEO retain and/or entertain the services of the civic organizations.

AN ENCAPSULATION: DECENTRALIZATION DEVOLUTION FRAMEWORK

Policy & institutional Arrangement for Decentralisation, Implementation A three-tier protocol that involves District Education Office (DEO) supervision and technical resourcing, civil society technical and financial resourcing as well as secondary service provision and private sector service provision.

\ \

PRIVATE KG PROPRIETOR

PRIVATE COMMUNITY TECHNICAL RESOURCING F I N A N C I A L R E S O U R C I N G S U P E R V I S I O N

DEO CIVIL SOCIETY

S U P E R V I S I O N T E C H N I C A L R E S O U R C I N G SERVICE PROVISION SERVICE PROVISION PROVISION SERVICE

AN ENCAPSULATION: DECENTRALIZATION DEVOLUTION FRAMEWORK

District Development Funding Facility District Assembly contributions for learning outcomes testing. Development Partners’ finance facility for KG

• proprietors. Civic organizations (NGOs,

churches & mosques) underwrite education service provision and vett learning

• utcomes testing.

DPs Testing & Evaluation KGs

LEARNING OUTCOMES

RESULTS C O N T R I B U T I O N S CONTRIBUTIONS SUPERVISION & RESOURCING

DAs DEOs

CIVIC ORGANISATIONS e.g. NGO, Churches CIVIC ORGANISATIONS e.g. Mosques, KG Res. Ctrs.

AN ENCAPSULATION: DECENTRALIZATION DEVOLUTION FRAMEWORK

Capacity Building & Human Resources Development for Decentralization Select DEO teaching personnel do peer training for all KG teaching personnel and

• perators/proprietors. Civic organisations
• perate KG resource centers.

CAPACITY DEO

(KG RESOURCE CENTER)

KG TEACHERS

KG PROPRIETOR CIVIC + COMMUNITY

AN ENCAPSULATION: DECENTRALIZATION DEVOLUTION FRAMEWORK

Partnership & Participation for Accountable Local Governance PTAs of private KGs oversee the management of KGs. Civic organizations’ KG resource centres coordinate technical capacitation of KG teaching personnel as well as the continual testing of pupils. Assemblies & the DEO retain and/or entertain the services of the civic organizations. Pupils COs DAs DEOs KGs PTAs ETC. ETC. KG RCs COMM.

GGA’S MANTLE & MANDATE

Ground Zero Report Aims To:

• Embark on the “…development and testing of key entry strategies [and] specific

actions to strengthen the institutional arrangements for decentralization implementation.”

• Suggest “…a shared responsibility of the Government, District [Assemblies], Civil

Society Organizations, [the] private sector and communities [of a district].”

• Ameliorate [1] lack of clarity; [2] weak collaboration; [3] inadequate budgetary

allocations; and [4] weak economic bases

SCALING-UP KG EDUCATION

ACCESS: To Provide Access to KG For All 4 & 5 Year Olds QUALITY: To Transform Teaching Practice & Learning Environments To Deliver Activity-based Learnig OUTCOMES: To Define and Measure A Set of Outcomes Teachers in every KG classroom Teacher training & development delivered using model KGs Teachers observe and record child development and share with parents Infrastructure upgraded to minimum standards Learning materials & resources provided Child development milestones developed & guiding curriculum, training & assessment Parents and public awareness campaign to promote KGs National standards established with strong sector leadership Monitoring & evaluation to measure impact of

• perational plan

Inclusion of special needs [Periodic] Review of KG curriculum Quality assurance inspection

QUANTITIES ON PRIVATE KG EDUCATION

Region

• No. of

Private Schools (PSs) PSs as % of all Schools Enrollment in PSs PS Enrollment as % of Total Enrollment

• No. of

Teachers in PSs PSs Teachers as Ratio

• f Total
• No. of

Untrained Teachers in PSs Ashanti

1,195 36.6 76,527 28.5 2,277 27.1 2,114

Brong Ahafo

444 22.4 29,981 16.4 883 16.3 847

Central

877 39.4 45,522 28.6 1,595 34.6 1,493

Eastern

664 28.1 32,284 19.7 1,034 19.6 951

Greater Accra

1,100 64.0 50,431 42.3 1,943 45.8 1,756

Northern

202 10.9 12,375 7.5 386 11.8 368

Upper East

80 11.2 10,181 14.0 143 10.6 137

Upper West

37 6.7 2,733 5.5 113 9.7 102

Volta

383 18.8 16,750 12.8 576 16.3 552

Western

556 26.5 33,906 18.4 939 22.2 909

SWOT – STRENGTHS

1. Private purveyors are naturally nimble, logistically 2. Parents seem to have an innate ‘respect’ and tolerance for private- service educators

SWOT – WEAKNESSES

1. Parents possess profound misconceptions about language instruction for the purposes of foundational learning 2. Amongst the ranks of private teachers many are untrained, they who then also have a colloquial command of their L1 language i.e. they possess an casual/ informal command of the spoken language and they lack formal facility with the writing and reading of the language[s]

SWOT – OPPORTUNITIES

1. An enterprising fresh start for KG growth is possible owing to the fact that grassroots level proprietors may be best placed to ‘reach’ parents, especially if they are religious institutions providing a “private” education service 2. A financially sustainable mechanism by way of a revolving fund for KG proprietors will grease the implementation of this enterprising approach to KG education delivery A concessionary KG proprietors’ fund plenished by Development Partners like The World Bank or IFC and managed by a finance agency or institution (e.g. Dalex Finance and/or Apex Bank and their affiliate rural banks)

SWOT – THREATS

1. Government might balk at the perceived loss of autonomy to the non-public sector 2. Errant-minded or behaviourally-apathetic parents might not fulfill their involvement obligations in their role as wards of pupils, e.g. their misguided extolment of cosmetic L2 usage and their addiction to the somewhat vacuous promise of absolutely ‘free’ education are omnipresent

THE EPIPHANY FOR "EPIPHANIA" & "EPIPHANIUS"

The appreciation for the common design of language as it is to be grasped and used by pupils for academic purposes should initially be achieved via L1 instruction, especially given that L1 usage functions as an evolutionary psychological and intellectual mechanism that efficiently and effectively instructs a pupil as to what lingual accidents to avoid when using language. The academic task of deconstructing language so that it may be reconstructed within a pupil is what L1 instruction aims to be all about.

THE EPIPHANY FOR "EPIPHANIA" & "EPIPHANIUS"

The epiphanies, alongside the aforementioned others, that the uninitiated have to appreciate and grasp is that language and thinking are inseparable; that lingual concepts come laden with psychological impressions; that language structures thinking and facilitates its articulation (name it "thaught" if you will); that languages may be ‘cross-structural,’ such that phonetics, as per example, can be cross-referencing amongst differing languages (e.g. L1 to L2); that, to this preceding extent, there is a universality to language acquisition such that a language driver and the passengers who he or she takes along will all need to be savvy to the lingual traffic lights, road demarcations, speed limits, and road signs that

• ne & all will need to comport with, all-together; most especially,

when the former is the assessed and the latter is an assessor.

SANKOFA

Past and present as well as looking back towards going forward, the following reality persists: “…much remains in the balance in terms of how the program is to be sustained and viewed as it further develops. There remains a strong undercurrent of those who remain believers in an ‘English only’ policy to early grade literacy; and then there are the urban areas of the country where implementation is challenged by linguistic diversity within communities, often with teachers who are not themselves literate in the dominant community language…”

National Literacy Acceleration Program (NALAP) Implementation Study (August 2010)

L-ONE TALK SERIES/LOTS

• The L-One Talk Series, LOTS, is a program about local

language instruction. This first-in-a-series broadcast marks the beginning of a national discussion & citizens’ digestion of Ghana’s policy on the topic of local language’s place in the classroom

• Altogether, we hope to elicit one & all’s view on what is

technically termed L1 instruction.

• By the program’s ending we trust you would have amply

reflected on this policy and appreciated how, if at all, you may best understand, if not also support local language instruction policy, as we hope you will do,

L-ONE TALK SERIES/LOTS

Session One (30 Minutes):

• The importance of language – i.e. their thinking is made

manifest by their language skills

• Oral tradition of African society – e.g. the transmission of

knowledge and the sharing of tradition is all done through language

• Simulated instructional exercise – e.g. get one parent to give

instructions to another parent in another L1 language other than the one under focus

L-ONE TALK SERIES/LOTS

Session Two (30 Minutes):

• The role of language in learning and its outcomes – e.g. new knowledge and the

progression to understanding at a level that is necessary for context & application

• Making the distinction between L1 instruction and the teaching of local language

– i.e. the use of language to learn NOT the learning of language

• If available, asking a parent/ward who was educated in the past era of L1

instruction

L-ONE TALK SERIES/LOTS

Session Three (30 Minutes)

• The academic sense, as opposed to the cultural issue, that is inherent in the POLICY – i.e.

the deconstruction of language etc. (e.g. phonics etc.) = the disclosure & discussion of Ghana’s L1 Instruction policy – e.g. language used as the learning medium & as an instructional method that spans the academic spectrum from explanation to assessment/ testing

• Including both the policy’s strengths and weaknesses
• Elicit the range of responses & reactions from the parents, that run the spectrum from

UNDERSTANDING TOLERATION SUPPORT (in your role as a parent & citizen)

• Delineation of the roles & responsibilities of parents, and by extension that of citizens, when

it comes to L1 instruction

• Reading at home
• Their participation in homework
• School materials

LOTS AS EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

• So far, Fanti and Ewe are done. Ga and Akwapim Twi are in

progress

• Recordings in 11 official languages & more, e.g. Hausa?
• These recordings will be broadcast on commercial &

community radio

• These above broadcasts will solicit further feedback – i.e. Call-

in shows

• These call-ins will hopefully be recorded/retained and

transcribed

• Local DEO staff will serve as guest experts and local radio hosts

will be given orientation, as will the DEOs

• They’ll then be made available for public policy analysis,

academic research, and other such purposes

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

• Central Tongu District, and its capital Adidome, are located north of Sogakope in the Volta

Region, and both of which are due northeastwards of Tema.

• Central Tongu has a population of 59,411, 88% of whom are rurally-placed.
• Migrants account for 30% of the district’s population, the majority of them hailing from the

Eastern, Greater Accra, and Northern Regions.

• Children comprise 38.2% of the district’s household population.

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

• The literacy rate of the district stands at 72%, and 68% report they can read and

write in L1 and L2.

• 35% of the population own mobile phones and 1.6% own computers.
• The district hosts 68 public schools and 8 private schools that are distributed in 8

circuits.

• The teacher/pupil ratio stands at 1:45.
• Community radio station Dela FM
• Amiga Rural Bank, and a Dalex Finance office are present in the district

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

Suitability as a Candidate for Attention: 1. Linguistically Homogeneous 2. Astute District Education Office 3. Educator-parents’ School’s Teaching Personnel as Master Trainers 4. Meagre Private Kindergarten (Yet Positive Parents’ Responses) 5. Community KG presence – a once-before one & current one 6. Fluency is presumed in the parents

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

Adidome Roman Catholic KG (a public school) should serve as a technical advisor to Adidome Delali Preparatory KG (a private school) for the following reasons:

• The public school appears to be a “best-practice” KG in terms of instructional method

and, perhaps, beyond – e.g. it is fully staffed as recommended, the potential for NALAP pedagogical efficacy is quite apparent, though not verified, and a dedicated, though perhaps minority, corps of parents appear keen to support the school

• In stark contrast, the private school is sparse with facilities, scant of teacher

certifications, and spare in educational materials

• Public KG teaching personnel at Adidome RC KG may serve as technical resource

consultants to private KG operators, ensuring in the process an optimal delivery of KG instruction districtwide

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

The operator of Kpogede Community KG (namely International Needs Ghana) and other civic organizations and institutions (e.g. churches and NGOs – UNIDPM?) should be recruited to open and operate KGs across the district, as should the District Assembly, these all under the instructional supervision of the District Education Office. The arrangement between these parties may work in the following ways:

• Community KGs operated by entities such as the above may best represent and cater

to the needs of their client communities, assuming they would possess the managerial capacity, financial resources, and/or ‘captive’ audience on, or at, hand.

• Regarding the latter issue above, community-placed churches are geographically

placed so as to allow for walking distances for kids traveling to and from home and

• school. These type conveniently-placed KGs, in their numbers, will be of complement

and of supplement to the planned addition of home-based KGs across the district

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

Retired GES teaching personnel, most especially KG-level ones, residing in the district and surrounding area will be recruited to open up home-based KGs. The due diligence procedures and products to actualize this aim may be summarized as follows:

• An extensive operations & management manual should be developed for their use,

such that it functions as a handy reference toolkit for them

• Facility specifications required for the safe operation of a KG within a domestic

premises will also be given to these proprietors

• A continuing education INSET regime will be afforded the KG proprietors, whereby the

experienced and retired KG teachers could also serve as master trainers to their less- experienced peers.

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

A KG seed capital funding reservoir could also be developed with the aid of Development Partners (e.g. GGA, USAID, the World Bank and/or IFC etc.), the Government of Ghana and/

• r the District Assembly’s funds. The administration & management of this funding

reservoir may then be managed by financial institutions such as Dalex Finance, Amiga Rural Bank, and/or The Trust Bank/ttb.

• Dalex already has a presence in Adidome, the capital of Central Tongu District and it

already has a long-standing relationship with GES personnel nationwide

• Dalex Finance has already been contacted and they have expressed an interest in managing such a

fund

• They assert that they have an ample nationwide network to cater to the above ends
• Many a rural bank has established a solid footing in their client community; it is

expected that Central Tongu is no exception

• The Trust Bank already has had a working relationship with IFC in the area of private

education funding

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

Given the above specific programming architecture for Central Tongu, the following model for KG growth & demand is to be developed, and for adoption nationwide as well:

• The local District Education Office maintains instructional supervision throughout the district, i.e. serving

as the regulator and as a technical resource provider

• The local District Assembly or an NGO develops and maintains KG Resource Centers that capacitate the

district’s entire KG sector in the following ways:

• The smaller private KGs rotate their pupils through it for recreational and intellectual replenishment – e.g. the provision
• f bigger-sized playgrounds not possible in a home-based setting, an extensive supply of facilities (library etc.) and

equipment (merry-go-rounds or expansive sandboxes etc.), and environmental education amenities like an ant farm or vegetable garden, i.e. nature and social life tangibles

• KG operators and educators access training, technical assistance, and peer education resources etc. from this ‘hub’
• Civic institutions and groups (churches, mosques and NGOs) operate “Community” KGs that are

geographically scale-appropriate for commuting pupils who walk to school

• Private KGs, home-based or otherwise, may operate small-medium scale KGs throughout the district,

whereby, for example, a retired KG teacher may function as its proprietor and/or lead education specialist

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

The transporting of pupils between home-based KGs and KG Resource Community Centers may be attended to via an agreement between GPRTU and the District Education Office and/or the District Assembly.

• The alternative will be for the district to maintain a fleet of buses or vans
• Further, and alternatively, an NGO may be hired to maintain the fleet of buses or vans

CENTRAL TONGU AS GROUND ZERO

An Operations & Management Manual replete with facilities design specifications for home-based KGs as well as all other types will be detailed. They may include the following issues and concerns:

• Recommended Teaching & Learning Materials (TLMs)
• Outdoor recreational space & equipment requirements, including issues such as

vegetative cover and the needed-absence of impervious surfaces etc.

• Furniture & classroom configuration
• Shelter and structural integrity
• Water & Sanitation, including rainwater harvesting
• Buildberg, is an initiative of UNNIDPM (www.unidpm.org)

KEYY – KG EDUCATION YARDSTICKS & YIELDS

In Summary ✓KG Resource Center ✓KG Operators’ Manual ✓LOTS Radio Series ✓Peer Training & Mentoring Regime ✓Recruitment Drive of Retired GES Functionaries ✓Establishment of Private & Civic Community-based KGs ✓Seed-capital Fund for KG Proprietors

The hope is to have this type programming operation piloted in a minimum of four/4 districts, if not in eleven/11+

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1. Good Governance Africa/GGA, Tina Asante-Apeatu & Co. 2. Ghana Education Service/GES, in the persons of Margaret Okai, Stephen Adu, Cynthia Bosumtwi-Sam, and Henry Hevi & staff 3. Kingsley Arkorful 4. Chris Dowuona-Hammond 5. The Board Members of UNIDPM

CREDITS

• Publisher is GGA
• www.ggawestafrica.org
• info@ggawestafrica.org
• Author is Mr. Ekem Reginald Amonoo-Lartson
• Proprietor of Amonoo Lartson Consulting
• Founding Board Member & Executive Director of UNIDPM (www.unidpm.org)
• Co-Founder of LEAP Transmedia (find us on Facebook)
• +233243255947 and/or ekemamonoolartson@gmail.com
• Graphic Designer is Ms. Constance Efua Mensah
• +233202927205 and/or efuastanzz@gmail.com

TO BE CONTINUED…