The conversation surrounding the quality, accessibility, and equity of Ghana’s educational system has once again taken centre stage, as Effia Member of Parliament, Isaac Boamah Nyarko, joined the panel on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV to weigh in on the relevance of prestige in Ghana’s education system, and the role of E-Blocks in bridging the educational inequality gap.
During a compelling session hosted by Moro Awudu on Wednesday, October 15, the Effia MP was asked whether the challenge in Ghana’s educational development was merely about “standardizing the quality of our educational system” or whether societal bias towards certain elite schools continued to hinder broader progress.
Moro Awudu’s question touched on a significant underlying concern: that some Ghanaian businesses and institutions continue to favour graduates of long-established, elite schools, regardless of the individual’s qualifications or the infrastructure of the schools they attended.
“Is it just a matter of standardizing the quality of our educational system,” Awudu asked, “or it’s also an issue of some schools gaining names so it won’t matter what the standard of teaching or the quality of the infrastructure and logistics and amenities that the school can boast of, because there are actually businesses in Ghana that will always prefer products of certain schools over others for whatever reason?”
Responding to this, Isaac Boamah Nyarko acknowledged the historical advantage enjoyed by elite schools, often referred to as “first-class schools” in the country.
According to him, these schools have been shaped over time by consistent investment and strong alumni networks, which have elevated their influence in both academia and the professional space.
“Whether you like it or not, the first-class schools are there and they’ve been built with time to create very good old students who find themselves in various positions of influence,” he said.
“When it comes to even getting employment in some organisations and they see your CV and they realise that you completed a certain school and they are also alumni, there is some sympathy that you get along that line,” he argued.
However, the legislator was quick to question the extent of this advantage and its impact on the wider student population.
He argued that Ghana’s focus should not be to merely preserve this legacy system, but to raise the standard of education across all schools public and private, old and new.
“The question has always been, over the years, how many children gain access to these first-class schools compared to the total number of students who have had access to education?” he asked.
“For me, it is about making sure that we build a human resource base that is capable of competing with any other person across the world in terms of what they acquired in learning.”
He highlighted the importance of ensuring that regardless of the school, be it Krobo Girls, Odumase SHS, or any of the constructed E-Block schools, students must be trained and equipped with the skills and competencies necessary for success in higher education and beyond.
“If a child attends Krobo Girls or Odumase SHS or whichever school in the country, is the child being trained or equipped in such a way that should they all move from their schools, they will all have the needed base to be able to compete at the university level? That should be our prioritization,” he stated.
He further argued that once infrastructure, teaching quality, and access to learning resources are equitably distributed, more schools will rise in prominence and be known for producing successful alumni, thus eroding the entrenched culture of elitism in Ghana’s secondary education.
“When these things are done and done well where facilities are spread across, where people get the needed teaching and experience and skill over time these schools will also be noted for producing old students or people who are also of similar calibre,” he concluded.
Background: E-Blocks and Education Equity
The E-Block programme, initiated under the first term of President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, aimed at expanding access to secondary education by constructing 200 Community Day Senior High Schools across the country.
The goal was to decongest elite schools, offer proximity-based learning opportunities, and reduce the infrastructure gap in rural and underserved communities.
By: Vanessa Edotom Boateng | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
