Developing rural education for national development

With over 60% of Ghana’s population living in rural areas, developing rural education to propel national development should be a reason d’?tre. Ghana’s rural development requires critical attention. The usual pittance thrown to rural dwellers particularly during electioneering periods are cardinal sins that political parties must desist from and rather pursue lasting solutions to the myriad of challenges that confront Ghana’s rural dwellers.

The history of many educational developments are usually in the rural areas where the environment is calm for sound teaching and learning. Even in Ghana, one can cast the mind back to the establishment of many secondary schools and universities in rural areas until fast development sprang up around those educational institutions and transformed into a community.

While in developed countries like England children in rural areas, perform better in school than their counterparts in urban areas, in developing countries like Ghana it is the opposite. What may account for this is certainly the lack of human and material resources in Ghana’s rural schools as compared to urban schools while in England it is the opposite. If Ghana is determined to develop then the opportunity lies in the development of its rural schools.

A typical example of a good attempt at rural school development at the secondary school level is the building of E-Blocks in some rural areas. Unfortunately, the politics in Ghana persuaded the current government from seeing the obvious good in rural secondary school development. No wonder the government has evidentially refused to complete those E-Blocks. A big shame to the leadership a society assumed to be enlightened yet not enlightened enough in educational matters that enlightened societies cherish.

In developing Ghana’s rural education for national development will require an uninterrupted seven (7) year development plan with an absolute focus on key performance indexes (KPIs), key deliverables (KDs) and key attainable (KAs). This will require a non-partisan, educational leaders and managers, subject expert teachers, planners and development experts (with inputs from rural traditional and opinion leaders) to form a working committee for the development of the plan.

In this article, I will only give brief explaining of the key consideration for policy guidance with the hope that in future I will have the opportunity to be a part of any committee for the development. Key considerations for the rural education development plan must include:

1. Private Public Partnership (PPP)

In a counter intuitive approach, the development of rural education in Ghana must be led by the private sector with support from government contrary to the popular notion and practice of public private partnership where government takes the lead. Private schools with successful record of accomplishment of educational achievement must be empowered to lead the rural education revolution.

This means that those private schools will present their proposal to government for partnership. It must be based on meritocracy and record of accomplishment. No politics.

2. Government Funding

In ways as government funds public education, it will be expected to fund the private public partnership in rural education development. The understanding here is that because of the laxity with which many approach government work, putting it under private management will facilitate effective result.

It is a known fact that government spends so much money in public schools yet the outcome is not desirable as expected hence; the proposal to fund private educational institutions to establish the rural education. After all, education is a public good and therefore the outcome impacts the country’s development.

3. Reduced prices in building materials for rural schools

Government must be intentional in achieving results of such policy initiative. All efforts to make the policy triumph must be encouraged. All building materials must be reduced to make it attractive and affordable to government to invest. This means that government must give tax incentives to local manufacturers and importers of building materials.

4. Shuttle buses

The scattered settlements of rural housing makes it practically expensive and not worth the investment to establish schools for each rural area. The most appropriate thing to do is to set up the school in the most advantageous part within a radius approximate to each catchment area.

For the quantum of investment required, the most viable thing for government to do is to have prompt shuttle buses to transport students to and from school. This will ensure regular and prompt attendance in school.

5. Focused curriculum

One of the essence of education is to solve existential problems. Rural schools can focus on national curriculum aimed at national examination and also develop curriculum that gives education that solves the peculiar needs of the specific rural area.

If it is agricultural education, what kind of agriculture triumph in a particular rural area? How can the educational curriculum of that rural area be designed and taught so as to improve the chain of production of that particular agricultural endeavours? Using focused curriculum to solving the needs of the people is the best approach to educational benefits.

6. Auxiliary developments around rural schools

To make rural schools attractive to good teachers, there must be auxiliary development to the school structure like accommodation for teachers. Hospital must not be too far away. Providing teachers with bicycles or motorcycles for ease of transportation to and from school will be a good resource.

7. All forms of tax reliefs for 20 years

Because the schools will be run by private entities, it will be a step in the right direction if government grants all forms of tax reliefs for the managers of the schools to build financial muscle to stand on their feet when government support ceases.

8. Higher salary and incentives for rural teachers than urban teachers

Arguably, rural teachers must be paid higher salary with attractive incentives than urban teachers’. This will be a motivation to have good teachers choosing rural school teaching. Having good and motivated teachers makes good students. It should not be the case that good building are erected without good teachers rather it must be good building and good teachers to make good students.

9. Attractive pension packages

Teachers in Ghana have one of the most meager pension benefits. In other to improve Ghana’s public school system, it is very important to repackage teachers’ pension benefits to be attractive. The country has to realize that its development will be speedy by a good educational systems and particularly rural school systems where majority of the population dwells.

10. Compulsory and incentive for numeracy and literacy for adult non-educated rural dwellers 

Developing rural school system means that the education is packaged for both young and adult. This means that whiles the young ones enroll in regular formal education, adults also enroll in numeracy and literacy. Holistic education will speed up rural education and development.

In conclusion, good rural education will curtail the current rate of rural urban migration that is impoverishing the country. A good antidote for Ghana’s development will be the holistic development of Ghana’s rural education system with good human and materials resources and a combination of national curriculum and rural production (particularly agricultural) drive.

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