The Education Manifesto Chair for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Prince Hamid Armah, has announced the party’s intention to ensure mandatory enrolment of children aged four in school.
This, he explained, will ensure the children have a solid foundation in education.
Dr. Armah emphasised that while the Ghana’s Constitution highlights compulsory education for children, it does not criminalize non-compliance.
To address this, he proposed leveraging the National Identification Authority (NIA) together with the Birth and Death Registry, to gather and manage data on children to ensure successful enforcement of the policy.
He explained that, through these institutions, parents of children nearing the age of four would be notified in advance to facilitate timely enrolment.
“If we want to make education compulsory, we must ensure children attend school. We have designed technology for this. The National Identification Authority already provides identification numbers to babies, and the Birth and Death Registry operates at the district level,” Dr. Armah stated.
“With all this data, it becomes easier for the District Education oversight committees, in collaboration with Assembly members, to identify children turning four and enforce compulsory enrollment. Although the current Pre-Tertiary Education Act doesn’t criminalize non-enrollment, we are working towards that,” he explained.
Dr. Armah added that, the next NPP government, under the leadership of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is committed to improving every kindergarten (KG) in the country.
He said they plan to construct ultra-modern KG blocks in areas that currently lack them, recognizing the importance of early childhood education as the foundation for future learning.
“Our goal is to ensure that KG blocks in various communities are upgraded with modern equipment and to construct new ones in underserved areas at a very low cost. I believe that with about five hundred thousand Ghana cedis, we can build a quality KG. We are committed to improving KGs because they are the foundation of further learning,” he added.
Source: Ayisha Akua Ibrahim
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