Deputy Education Minister in charge of tertiary, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said it is premature for the general public to conclude that the nation’s educational system is in a poor state based on the global school rankings.
He remarked that it was unfortunate the way the media and the public sought to create the impression that Ghana’s educational system is indeed the worst in the world based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) global school ranking released on Wednesday.
The OECD’s global school ranking which is considered the biggest in the world placed Ghana and other African countries at the bottom after analyzing 76 countries worldwide.
The Education Ministry subsequently issued a statement dismissing the OECD ranking with the explanation that the country’s educational system is robust and making tremendous improvements.
Speaking further on the Ministry’s stance on the matter, Mr. Ablakwa pointed out that it was important for his outfit to “set the record straight” in order to “avoid panic and rather welcome a more objective and scientific appraisal of our educational system within the context of what we have been doing so far.”
He said the full OECD report will be made available at the upcoming World Education Forum in South Korea; an event Ghana’s Education Minister will be attending.
According to Mr. Ablakwa, it is, therefore, imperative for the general public “to wait for this full report then we can make some sense out of the report and engage in objective analysis.”
The Deputy Education Minister mentioned that there are pressing questions the substantive Minister will ask at the forum including the “sample frame – what really went into the selection of these countries because there were only 76 countries used for this study.”
He stated that presently, all what is in the public domain is the press highlights of the report and so there is “no need to panic at this point; there is no need to run down our educational system.”
Ablakwa, however, admitted that the Ministry “has long realized based on our own internal surveys that Maths and Science is a challenge so my boss has constantly made Maths and Science a priority” and as such efforts are being made to make these subjects attractive to students.
He stressed that “at this point, it is premature to be conclusive. We are also saying that there are illogical conclusions…because many people may not have seen the press highlights and may have been carried away by the interpretations and the political twists that people are making on this press highlight.”
