Poor-quality desks threaten value for money in basic schools

By Ernest Bako WUBONTO

Lack of adequate furniture supply to basic schools has been a major challenge over past years, with many pupils in remote areas having to sit on building blocks and other unacceptable materials for studies.

While in some schools three to four students share a dual desk, other schools have newly constructed classrooms not in use due to a lack of desks.

Students are sometimes forced to carry their own tables and chairs from home to school before they get a comfortable seat for academic activities.

A recent report by a civil society organisation and policy think-tank – African Education Watch (Eduwatch) – has identified a growing trend of substandard desk supplies for pre-tertiary schools by producers given government contracts to deliver desks.

These substandard desks do not last beyond a year; meanwhile, it will take about a decade for government to procure new ones for these schools, leaving students and teachers in wretchedness.

To address this challenge, Eduwatch is urging government, through the Ministry for Education, Ministry of Local Government and Ghana Education Service (GES), to implement a mandatory warranty policy to ensure contracted companies deliver quality products to schools.

Chief Executive Officer-Eduwatch Kofi Asare highlighted that government earlier this year allocated about GH?600million under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for procuring desks for basic schools across the country.

He elaborated that though this represents a significant investment toward addressing the crucial furniture deficit of one million desks in public basic schools, if one of the most persistent challenges in school furniture procurement – which is the supply of substandard desks, some of which deteriorate within a year – is not addressed, the impact will be severe.

“This undermines value for money, increases recurrent spending and leaves thousands of pupils without adequate learning spaces.

“Eduwatch calls on the Ministry of Local Government to work closely with the Ministry of Education and ensure all District Assemblies demand a minimum one-year warranty on desks supplied under this programme,” he said.

Mr. Asare asserted that such a practice aligns with best practice across Africa, where countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Rwanda require warranties on school furniture to guarantee quality, protect public funds and improve accountability in the supply chain.

A mandatory warranty will ensure suppliers take responsibility for product defects, motivate higher production standards, extend the lifespan of school furniture and deliver better value for taxpayers.

“We urge both ministries to issue clear guidelines directing all Assemblies to incorporate warranty clauses in their procurement processes before contracts are awarded,” he stated.

As a CSO that has demonstrated responsibility for safeguarding the public purse, he emphasised that Eduwatch remains committed to supporting policy reforms which ensure safe, durable and cost-effective learning environments for every Ghanaian child.

In 2023, an Eduwatch report on lack of desks in public basic schools observed that the desk situation is worse at the primary level in the education sector’s most underserved regions – namely the Northern, North East, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, Bono East and Oti Regions.

EduWatch, in that report, mentioned that Northern Region leads with 213,252 public primary school pupils without desks, followed by Upper East – 118,340 and Bono East – 86,074.

The Education think-tank added that, cumulatively, 638,008 representing 61 percent of public primary school pupils in the seven underserved regions of Ghana’s education sector do not have desks.

The disbursement of GH?600million under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to procure desks for basic schools across the country is a welcome initiative by government; however, without acceptance of the advocacy for a quality assurance mechanism through a warranty policy, most basic schools will be in a worse desk-shortage situation in two years.

The post Poor-quality desks threaten value for money in basic schools appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.

Read Full Story