The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama has met with representatives of Teacher Unions at the head office of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) in Accra.
Mr Mahama used the occasion to outline his vision for the educational sector.
“We had a healthy policy dialogue in preparation for finalising our (NDC) manifesto,” he said.
He subsequently wrote on his Facebook some key points he shared during the meeting:
He said “I emphasised the importance of conducting an educational reform in my first 100 days in office and the integral role of teachers in national policy reforms.
“My administration will focus on adopting ‘first language’ as a medium of instruction from KG to Basic 3 and training more teachers in major local languages to facilitate teaching and learning at the basic levels.
“To encourage reading at the basic level, we plan to build more libraries and resume providing reading and textbooks for all basic schools.
“Timely disbursement of the capitation grant to education directorates and schools will be a priority, as well as removing the capping and collateralisation of the GETFUND and resuming the free sanitary pad distribution policy.
“I will prioritise the revival of abandoned TVET and E-blocks in our education infrastructure drive to decongest schools and improve the quality of education.
“We also plan to review and improve the implementation of the Free SHS policy, resolve its associated challenges, and mainstream TVET and STEM in all secondary schools.”
He stressed that “These are just a few highlights from the productive dialogue we had. I look forward to further collaboration with teacher unions and other stakeholders to develop effective policies for the education sector.
I’ll review and improve implementation of Free SHS, resolve its associated challenges – Mahama
“Together, we can build a better and more inclusive education system for our children and the future of our nation. Thank you to all the teacher unions who participated and shared their valuable insights” he wrote.