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Ghana: Using Education As an Equalising Factor
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Public Agenda (Accra)
EDITORIAL
16 May 2008
Posted to the web 16 May 2008
When he took the stage as the first to appear on the "An Encounter with Presidential Aspirant programme on Wednesday, the Presidential candidate of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom talked passionately about his desire to lead the country and free it from poverty.
He quite rightly noted that to reduce poverty we must first identify its many and protracted causes, which include lack of equitable access to education, health and affordable houses for the most vulnerable in our society.
In development discourse, equitable education has emerged as the most potent factor for empowering people and reducing poverty. Even in the most advanced countries, equitable education is still treated as a priority on the development agenda. How much less can developing countries afford to ignore quality education.
In fact quality and affordable education has proven to be an equalizing factor throughout the world, in as much as developed countries have used it as means of accelerating economic and social growth. In his address, Dr. Nduom promised to use quality education, particularly technical-skill-based to encourage the youth to take their places as disciplined and hard working citizens. He promised to equip public schools across the country to provide opportunity for all children to reach their fullest potential.
It must be admitted that though the current government has introduced some good interventions like the capitation grant and the school feeding programmes to encourage enrollment, the lack of physical infrastructure and teaching aids in many schools across the country requires the next government to embark on an elaborate expansion of school facilities to ensure that our quest for quality education and accelerated development remains on course.
In this regard this newspaper challenges all the presidential candidates to make quality, affordable and universal basic education the focus of their planning, in case they come to power.
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This newspaper has said time and again that some children are born into certain conditions through no fault of theirs. For instance, if any child had the choice, he or she would not have chosen to be born of poor parents. That is why the state owes unfortunate children the duty to help them to climb up the social ladder. And this can be done through quality education through which they can make important choices in life and get good jobs. In view of this, present and future governments must keep the social contract of a holistic development that ropes in all sectors of society. Marginalisation of any section of society in terms of access to education is not in tandem with our desire to attain a middle income status.
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