The Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) in the Upper West Region has held its first general meeting of the year in Wa on Saturday, September 18, 2021.
The meeting brought together the proprietors of various private schools across the length and breadth of the region, including some stakeholders of education in the region.
Giving his opening remarks at the meeting, the Regional Chairman of the association, Alhaji Alhassan Umar said the purpose of the meeting was to charter best ways of promoting quality, standards and continuity of member schools.
The acting Upper West Regional Director of Education, Mr Abdul Razak Korah, delivering a speech at the meeting, said the private sector continues to play a very critical contribution in the delivery of education in the country.
He observed even though the government has introduced the free education policy in fulfillment of the UN SDG Goal 4, private schools still stay competitive due to their ever improving outcomes.
The Upper West Regional Social Welfare Director, Madam Lilian Kpelle, in a speech also indicated that the Department is clouded with the mandate to ensure pre-schools, crèche and nursery, are operated within acceptable child-friendly guidelines.
By this, she said the Department assesses monitors, supervises and licenses the operations of crèche, nursery and daycare centres.
Speaking at the sidelines of the meeting, the Upper West Regional Secretary of GNAPS, Alhaj Dassana N. S. Adamu (Hon) raised concerns about the fact that government did not include private schools in the much-touted “One Teacher One Laptop” policy.
He attributed this to government’s refusal to consult the private schools in certain decision making processes.
He averred that government has a responsibility of ensuring accessible and equitable education for all Ghanaian children irrespective of whether they attend public or private schools.
Thus, he charged the government to reconsider including private schools in the policy, and also to always endeavor to have GNAPS at the centre of consultations regarding education.
He has hinted that the national secretariat of GNAPS has, in reference to the laptops, already written to the government to be considered for same.